Second Chances
by The Light Inside The Darkness
Summary: (Sequel to She's the Man - Or Not) 20 years after Maura ended things with Jane, the two meet again at BPD. Will Maura be able to trust Jane again? And what happens when Jane finds out Maura's secret? Eventual Rizzles.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: All right. So here's the (not so long) awaited sequel to She's the Man - Or Not. This story will be updated every Friday, so you'll have something to hold you over the weekend. This will take place twenty years later. Jane is a Detective and Maura an M.E. If you haven't read She's the Man - Or Not, you should still do fine here. Just a short recap: Jane pretended to be a guy to get Maura's attention. The two started dating and everything was fine until Maura wanted to be more intimate with Jane. Jane was able to get out of it a few times, even going so far as to say she had a problem with getting an erection. Finally after her mother found out and Jane herself had enough of all the lies she decided to come clean. They had a huge fight that ended with Maura breaking things off and kicking Jane out of her life.**_

_**So, that's pretty much the gist. Anyway, without further ado, here is the sequel. I hope you guys will enjoy! Also, I won't be posting anymore author notes, unless it is to answer questions or to highlight a change!**_

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Jane Rizzoli sighed – obviously irritated – as she threw down her pen. The day had been long, frustrating and unbelievably boring. She cursed herself for wishing for a slow day. She'd rather be out there chasing suspects and ending up too tired to carry herself up to the third floor of her apartment, than sitting at her desk annoying her partner Frost all day. Which is what she resorted to if paperwork become unbearable and she needed to find a way to relieve her stress. Frost wasn't too happy with it, but he had no chance to stop the various paperclips and paper balls being thrown his way.

The two had been nearly inseparable after graduating High School and joining the academy. Jane had been the one to make Detective first, Frost following a few years later. And now, nearly twenty years later, they found themselves partnered up again, both Homicide Detectives. Their team was completed by Sergeant Detective Vince Korsak. Jane's first partner when she made Homicide.

The Detective sighed once more, throwing her head back as she stared up at the ceiling. She wrung her hands together, her fingers touching the matching scars on her palms. She closed her eyes momentarily, images of that horrible night flashing through her mind. When she reopened them and sat back up, she saw Frost looking at her, one eyebrow raised inquisitively. She gave him a small smile, before turning her eyes back to the papers on her desk.

There was something else that made Frost and Jane work. The deep bond they shared. The trust that had been there from the day they met. They had been best friends in High School, both helping each other through the hard times. For Jane, there hadn't been that many. Maybe some bad grades, the danger of failing some classes and the divorce of her parents at the end of their senior year. But there had been one thing that stood out.

One thing that had her crying her heart out for days, skipping school for nearly a week and had her looking like a mere ghost of the person she used to be. Well, it wasn't really a thing as much as a some_one_. The name still came up now and then, her mind going back to that time. She still smiled when she thought of her. The way her hair used to shine when the sunlight would reach it. The way her smile could light up the whole room. And the way her eyes always had this sparkle in them. That was, until Jane decided to ruin everything and be the one to diminish that sparkle.

Maura Isles. Maura freaking Isles. Again a sigh passed Jane's lips and she ran her hands over her face. It seemed so perfect at the time. It was perfect. Until she ruined it.

"Jane?" The sound of her name made her mind stop visiting memory lane and she looked up at her partner/friend. "You okay?" Jane nodded.

"Yeah, just tired is all. Can't wait for this day to finally be over." Frost nodded in agreement, a smile now on his face. Jane always wondered how he could look ten years younger when he smiled.

"I know. Can't wait for the weekend to finally begin." Frost's eyes lit up as he said this and Jane chuckled behind her hands.

"Emily coming over?" Her question made Frost blush and Jane's smile grew wider. "It's getting pretty serious between the two of you isn't it?" When all she got was a shrug, she pressed on.

"So when am I going to meet her?" Jane's eyes held a certain mirth about them as she asked this.

"On our wedding day. If not later." The mumbled response caused Jane to laugh.

"Oh come on Frostie! I won't bite you know. Or steal her. But hey, if she ever tells you she wants to… experiment a little. You have my number." The Detective wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, earning a groan from the man in front of her.

But whatever he wanted to say was cut short when Cavanaugh's voice filled the room, shushing everyone. Jane looked up, her eyes still smiling. Cavanaugh stood in front of them, a woman next to him. Jane cocked her head slightly, eyeing the woman.

"Out of your league Rizzoli." Frost held his hand to the side of his mouth as he whispered this, being under the impression that their Lieutenant wouldn't hear him in the dead silent room. Jane merely raised an eyebrow and just like that, a dare was made.

"I'd like you all to meet our new medical examiner. I expect you all to treat her with the utmost respect, or you will have to answer to me." Silent murmurs filled the room and everyone nodded their heads. Jane smirked to herself. People were still scared of the small man. She had to admit, she was pretty intimidated herself when she first started working for him, but after one case she found out he was a softie. Or at least he was when it came to her.

"Thank you Lieutenant Cavanaugh." The woman spoke and Jane involuntarily sat up straighter. She got her undivided attention. Frost snickered, but Jane was too captivated by the angel standing a few feet away from her to notice.

"I'm looking forward to working with all of you. Please feel free to come down to my office if you need anything, my door is always open." Somewhere along those lines, the M.E.'s eyes had drifted off to where Jane was sitting and the Detective felt like she was the only one in the room. She could listen to that voice all day and her mind was already trying to come up with reasons to go down to the morgue. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she totally missed the woman say her name.

Frost however, wasn't drooling all over himself and he shot up in his seat, his complexion suddenly going pale. He watched as the honey blonde shook several officers' hands, before gravitating towards them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Korsak stand up to greet her first and took this opportunity to get Jane's attention. If her reaction was anything to go on, she didn't hear the woman say her name. If she did, she would have probably sprung up from her chair and raced out of there as fast as she could.

But try as he may, he couldn't get her attention. Paperclips ended up in her hair, hands were being waved in vane and even whispering – albeit harshly – her name didn't get her eyes to even stray for a second. He swallowed thickly when he watched the woman come up to him, a polite smile on her face. He quickly stood up, glancing at Jane.

"It's nice to meet you _Maura_. I'm looking forward to working with you _Maura_." He watched as Maura's brows furrowed together, a confused look on her face. Korsak raised his own eyebrows, wondering what had gotten into him. Rolling his eyes, he decided that his cat videos were more important than what was going on with the rookie and turned back to his computer.

Frost smiled nervously, his eyes once more straying over to Jane. But even after talking louder than normal, saying Maura's name twice where it wasn't even necessary and stressing it too, the raven haired woman was still undeterred. Maura's complexion slowly relaxed, not thinking too much into it as she returned his pleasantries.

"It's nice to meet you too Detective…?" She trailed off, letting Frost fill in the blank.

"Oh, Frost. Barry Frost." He smiled. If he couldn't get Jane's attention, than maybe he could prolong the inevitable, all the while praying for a miracle.

"It's nice to meet you Detective Frost." And just like that their conversation ended and he watched with baited breath as she walked up to Jane.

Did she seriously not recognize her, or did she just plain ignore it? But he somehow knew that the M.E. really didn't know who the woman who she was walking towards was. After all, Jane had been rambling on and on about her and he pretty much knew everything about her. Or at least, everything about her when she was twenty years younger.

Jane all but shot from her seat, the famous Rizzoli grin already in place. Frost closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them that all of this was just a sick dream and that he had fallen asleep at his desk. But his hopes were shattered when he opened them again and everything was still the same as before. It was too good to be true. He never fell asleep at his desk. He carefully sat down, his eyes trained on the two women in front of him.

"Detective Rizzoli, it's nice to finally meet you." Jane had already opened her mouth to say something, but closed it as Maura's voice greeted her first.

"Y-You know me?" She cursed herself for stuttering. Jane Rizzoli never stuttered… ever.

"Of course I do. You've been on the news a fair amount of times recently. I look forward to working with the best." Maura's smile was different from the others. This one looked genuine. Jane could only stare at the woman in front of her. She knew her. _She_ knew _her._

She seemed to snap herself out of her embarrassment just in time to save herself from coming over as a crazy person and quickly reached out to grab the hand that the woman still had lingering in between them. Clearing her throat, she tried her Rizzoli grin again and found a hidden ounce of confidence.

"Look no further. You've found the best and she's looking forward to working with you too. I wish I could've done some research on you as well, but I didn't exactly know you were coming." Maura smiled as she retracted her hand.

"That's quite all right. Although I have to say that I didn't do any research on you Detective. The news is all I've seen. You're very heroic." Jane almost blushed. Almost.

"I wouldn't call myself heroic, but thank you." The Detective rubbed the back of her neck, her grin seeming permanent. And apparently it effected the other woman too, because she still had her smile plastered on too.

It was then, that Jane remembered she had totally zoned out when the woman announced her name. "I'm really sorry, but I totally didn't catch your name." She watched as the honey blonde simply cocked her head to one side, her smile never leaving her face.

"Maura Isles." In a matter of seconds, Jane's smile slipped off her face, she turned awfully pale and she looked like a fish out of water. Her mouth opened and closed several times, before she let out something that sounded like a huff and a snort combined.

Letting herself fall into her chair, she felt the whole room spinning around her. She couldn't breathe, she felt nauseous, her whole body was covered with sweat and she had no idea how to stop this.

She vaguely heard Maura say something about a panic attack and felt her head being pressed down between her knees. She groaned softly, squeezing her eyes shut. This was not happening right now.

"Try to take deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth." To emphasize what Maura meant, she demonstrated it to Jane. The M.E. was relieved when Jane mirrored her.

Several minutes passed as Jane tried to calm herself down. Frost had come to her with a paper bag, but she slapped it away, croaking out an 'I'm fine' in the process. Eventually, she lifted her head, only to look straight into the ones of Maura Isles. Maura freaking Isles.

She swallowed thickly, her mouth having suddenly gone dry. Was that just one of the symptoms or was it because of Maura? Jane didn't know. She was sure that Maura did, but she wasn't exactly in the mood to ask her right now. In fact, all she wanted to do was run away as fast as she could, go home, hide under her blankets and pray that this was all just a weird, sick dream and that she would wake up any moment.

But of course that didn't happen. All she could see were the worried eyes of Maura staring down at her.

"Are you feeling better?" All Jane could do was nod, her mind still reeling from what just happened. She definitely wasn't getting any sleep tonight. "Have you experienced anything like this before?" Jane opened her mouth to answer, but found that she couldn't find her voice. All that came out was a strangled cry and she quickly closed her mouth again, averting her eyes.

"Just try and relax. Concentrate on my voice and on your breathing." Jane did as she was told. Try as she may, she still found Maura's voice as beautiful and enchanting as twenty years ago. She managed to croak out a reply.

"Tell me something." Maura frowned. Tell her what? What exactly was she supposed to say in these situations? She felt her own heart rate increase and did the thing that relaxed _her_. Ramble.

"Did you know that researchers posit that malfunctions in the brain's system to protect against threats may result in an over-exaggeration of the threat, leading to increased anxiety and, in extreme cases, panic?" Jane raised her eyes slowly, a warmth spreading through her chest. After all these years this woman still had it. So as always, she relied on sarcasm to help her not deal with her emotions.

"So you're saying you're a threat and I'm over-exaggerating? Doesn't even sound that illogical. You don't really look like a threat to me. Gain a hundred pounds, get some tattoos, and grow a beard…" Jane shrugged. "Then you might come close." The M.E. chuckled softly.

"I'm glad I don't look like a threat to you. But if I may ask, what made you panic?"

_This question._ Jane thought to herself, her mind trying to come up with an appropriate answer. She was saved from finding one however, when Frost piped up from his desk.

"She's just not used to seeing a beautiful woman like yourself around here Doc. As you can see, there are only a handful of handsome officers here – including myself – and that's just not the thing detective Rizzoli here is looking for. If you know what I mean." He finished with a wink her way, catching the dazed look on Jane's face.

Maura blushed at his words, her eyes locking with Jane's for just a moment, before she quickly turned away. Clearing her throat, she aimed a smile Frost's way.

"Thank you detective Frost, but there is already someone who has captured my heart and attention. None the less, I am flattered." Frost kept his appearance up, while Jane couldn't believe that this day could get any worse. Maura turned to her, her concerned gaze returning.

"Detective, if you need any help getting into contact with someone who could help you control your anxiety, please do not hesitate to ask. As I've said, my door is always open. I don't officially start until Monday, but I will be in my office for the remainder of the week." Jane was able to manage a 'Thank you' and a slight smile, before she watched Maura walk out of the bull pen, a confident sway in her hips.

Only when she was sure the honey blonde was safely out of hearing range, did she turn to Frost. Her eyes were wide, her mind still going over what had just happened. Oh, she was definitely not sleeping tonight.

"What the fuck Frost? You couldn't have warned me?" She didn't raise her voice. Truthfully, she couldn't. Her mouth was still dry and she still thought the room was slightly spinning. Her partner shook his head.

"I tried Jane. I called your name, threw paperclips at you, waved at you, but all you could do was stare at Maura." Jane groaned, throwing her head down on her desk.

"Relax Jane. She doesn't know who you are." The Detective's head snapped up from the desk, her eyes piercing Frost's.

"You're right. She doesn't. How can she not? She said she saw me on the news." Frost merely shrugged.

"Maybe they never said your first name. You're known as detective Rizzoli around here. Not Jane." Jane knew he was right. She was always being called Rizzoli. So it wouldn't be a stretch to think the news hadn't mentioned her first name right?

She sighed, burying her hands in her hair. But even if she didn't know who she was, she was going to have to tell her. Lying bit her in the ass twenty years ago. She wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Twisting her finger, she frowned as she pulled a paperclip out of her hair. Glancing at Frost, she saw the other man shrug, an 'I told you so' look in his eyes.

She had until Monday to come up with a way to tell her. After all, she wasn't officially working until then. But what if that was too long? What if going down right now and telling her was already waiting too long? She shut her eyes tightly, willing her brain to come up with an answer. But all she got was 'You never should have lied to her in the first place. Maybe then you would still be together'. Jane sighed, her head once again hitting the desk with a loud thump. Frost gave his partner a sympathetic look.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Okay, so I said I wouldn't really do these, but a guest reviewer kind of just made me. First of all, I know that people don't change that much over twenty years and that yes, Maura would probably be able to recognize Jane the moment she saw her, but hey, in case you haven't noticed. This is a story. If you want to know what happens in real life, than I suggest trying it out. Let me know how it went in twenty years. And second of all, it will be (kind of) explained in this chapter. So please stop wasting your time and energy readng a story you don't like and leaving a review and wasting my time and energy in having to read your review.**_

_**Anyway, I would like to thank everyone else for their reviews and support. It seriously blew me away. And I hope this story will do justice to what you guys have in mind. Hoping I'm not going to let everyone down. Oh, and just to be absolutely completely sure. Rizzles is the end game! Also a bit of Frost in this one.**_

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Jane found herself in the morgue the next morning, wringing her hands nervously. Several lab technicians had turned their heads when Detective Rizzoli had walked in. She rarely came down to the morgue. The only times that she did was when something was clearly wrong and heads were going to be rolling. But everyone noticed that the Detective wasn't angry, or even anything close to that direction. She was nervous.

She had raised her hand several times to knock on Maura's door, but she chickened out every time. The only thing that stopped her from walking away were all the curious gazes. She had a reputation to hold onto and leaving with her tail between her legs wouldn't do it much good.

So she sucked up her pride, raised her hand and knocked three times. A part of her wished that Maura wasn't in, but the 'Come in' evaporated that wish. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door to only fit her head through.

"Uhh, hey. You busy?" She noticed the files lying around Maura's desk and let her eyes slowly roam over them. Anything to postpone looking at her. Maura removed her reading glasses and smiled at the Detective. Or rather at her head.

"Not at all, please come in." Jane nodded, slipping inside the room and shutting the door, leaning against it. Her eyes were taking in the office. There was already so much difference. Masks were lining the walls, rich furniture filled the room and of course, a beautiful woman was sitting behind an – apparently – new desk.

"What can I help you with detective? Is this about your attack yesterday?" Jane's eyes took their time traveling over to Maura. But it wouldn't matter if it took her a year to finally look at the other woman, it was still too soon. Again, her mouth went dry and she started feeling dizzy. And she hadn't even told her why she was down here.

"No. Or yes. I think so." The M.E. frowned. She didn't understand the hesitation in the other woman's eyes. Didn't know why she was acting like Maura could jump at her at any moment. She waited patiently for the Detective to elaborate, motioning for her to sit down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

Jane – wanting to get off her feet as quickly as possible – eagerly took the invitation. Only when she sat down, she found that standing was more comfortable. But this wasn't the time to make any sarcastic jokes or comments. It didn't matter how badly she wanted to. Clearing her throat, she tried – to no avail – to get comfortable. Opting to lean forward and have as little contact with the chair as possible, she found Maura's eyes again.

"There is something that I have to tell you." Maura nodded, urging her to go on. Jane did, after licking her dry lips. "My first name is Jane." She closed her eyes, held her breath and waited for the inevitable. But it never came. Cracking open one eye, she found Maura looking at her with amusement. She opened her other eye, her eyebrows coming together in a frown.

"You're not surprised." It was a statement, not a question. A statement, to which Maura shook her head.

"Should I be? I told you I've seen you on the news detective. They mentioned your first name." Jane was confused. If she knew her first name then she surely knew who she was… right? Or maybe not. After all, she did see her as Jane for all but three times. Each time for a few minutes. So it could be possible that she didn't remember her. Or maybe she did and she was playing a sick joke on Jane. To get her back for what she did.

But that wouldn't be something that Maura did. Then again, no one ever betrayed her like Jane did. She wouldn't blame her if she did try to get back at her. But she would find out soon enough. Taking another deep breath, she continued.

"So you don't remember me at all?" This time it was Maura's turn to frown. What exactly was Jane trying to say? Jane elaborated. "Twenty years ago. Jake." She didn't need to say anything else. Maura's eyes widened in almost double the size and her mouth fell open.

Jane averted her eyes as quickly as she could, instead opting to look at her fidgeting hands. This was it. She might have had a chance to befriend Maura before telling her all of this and maybe having the chance to get to know her again. But if she did and Maura would eventually find out she would have betrayed her yet again and ruin the small chance she had.

"Jane." The name suddenly sounded foreign to her ears when Maura said it. Maybe because she was used to the M.E. calling her Jake. Or maybe because the only time she had said it held so much hatred that even Jane had hated her name for a while.

But it was said with no malice this time. Only with… curiosity? Jane slowly lifted her eyes, looking at Maura. The M.E. was looking past her at the door, a faraway look in her eyes. Could it be that she wasn't mad anymore?

"Maura?" The honey blonde's eyes snapped towards Jane and the Detective swore the M.E. had momentarily forgotten that she was in the room. Her eyes watched as the scene unfolded itself in front of her.

Maura's jaw set, her eyes turned cold and her mouth formed a thin line. But yet again, there was no anger in her eyes. This gave Jane even the slightest amount of hope that they could try and at least work together. Maybe even be friends one day?

"I can't believe I didn't see it." It was whispered more to herself than to Jane, but the Detective none the less shrugged and answered.

"You didn't exactly see me as… me a lot. Doubt you remember seeing me the first time and the second time I was kind of acting like a stalker and the third time… well." She let the sentence end there, waving her arm around pathetically. Jane didn't look at Maura the whole time.

"I guess you're right. But I would be lying if I'd say the thought hadn't crossed my mind. I guess I was just too naïve to believe it." Jane heard the resentment in her tone. She closed her eyes for a brief second to berate herself for putting Maura through all of this.

"You're not naïve Maura." She heard the other woman lean back in her chair, a small creak grabbing her attention.

"Then what am I Jane? Am I not naïve for believing that you cared for me? For believing you loved me? Or for thinking you made a believable guy? Because thinking back to it I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. So, what am I, if I'm not naïve?" Jane looked up at Maura, straightening her back.

"You were looking for someone to trust, to love. And I took advantage of that fact. You were young, we both were. You weren't naïve Maura. If anyone was naïve it was me. I believed that you wouldn't hate me when you found out the truth. Hell, I even believed you would never find out the truth for a while. Talk about being naïve right?" The Detective let out a humorless laugh.

Maura regarded the woman in front of her for a moment. She had changed. Considerably. She had found Jane beautiful when she met her, whether she was Jake or not. Her facial musculature was incredible and Maura found herself more often than not just staring at Jane (Jake at the time).

She had been so angry and hurt when the truth had been revealed. She had tried moving on, following her classes, going about her business, but her mind wandered off most of the time. She found herself fighting back tears while in class, rushing off to the bathroom to empty her stomach contents when another wave of nausea hit her. Sarah tried to get her to stay in her room, to give herself time to properly heal, but that wasn't how Maura Isles dealt with heartbreak.

She was good at compartmentalizing everything and that's what she was going to do. Or at least, that was what she planned to do. After a week of trying, she eventually woke up one day with absolutely no energy left in her body and she wept. She vaguely remembered the day, but she remembered Sarah holding her, trying to keep her from falling apart. But it didn't matter anymore. She had already fallen apart the moment Jane left. Sarah was just left to hold the pieces.

Leaning forward in her own chair, she let out a small sigh of her own. The anger she held had dissipated over time and all that was left was a feeling of loneliness. A part of her wondered where it had come from, but another part of her knew that Jane was the only person who had ever showed any real genuine interest in her. But none of this meant that all was forgiven and forgotten. Forgiven, maybe. But forgotten? It would never be forgotten.

"We're going to have to work together detective. Let's keep our relationship purely professional. It would be in both of our interests." Jane had been waiting for Maura to say something. Anything. This was not what she expected. It felt too easy. Like she was being let off for stealing a cookie, not lying and betraying someone.

"Maura-" Jane started, but Maura cut her off.

"Please call me Dr. Isles. Like I said, purely professional. Do we have an understanding… detective?" Jane nodded. She wasn't going to get anything else from the M.E. at the moment. She should be happy she wasn't being yelled at or worse.

"I understand." The Detective stood up, her body thanking her for not staying in that uncomfortable chair any longer. She moved to the door, ready to head out when something entered her mind. Turning around, she found Maura watching her intently.

"I'm happy for you though." The M.E. raised an eyebrow, her eyes questioning. Jane smiled softly. "You found someone. Or at least that's what you said right? 'Someone who has captured your heart and attention'? He's a lucky guy." Jane once more turned around to leave the room, when Maura's voice stopped her.

"Who said it's a he?" Thoughts and questions invaded Jane's mind immediately, but she pushed them all aside. She didn't have the right to ask any of them. Or to voice any of her thoughts. Instead, she said something else, her eyes trained on the door.

"_She's _very lucky then." As Jane left the room, she missed the sad smile that embraced the M.E.'s face. Her eyes were clouded over and it would be several long minutes before she would be able to pull herself out of her reverie and get back to work. Jane was already getting to her. Or rather her words were getting to her.

* * *

Friday night found Jane and Frost sharing a few drinks together at the Dirty Robber. Jane was glad she didn't have to go through everything alone and grabbed at the chance when Frost invited her along. Luckily for her, Korsak had a canine emergency at home and couldn't join them. She wasn't really in the mood of explaining what happened when she was a teenager to the old man and neither did she have the patience to sit through the whole night keeping her mouth shut.

"So what are you going to do?" Jane took a long drag from her beer, letting the liquid roll around her mouth before swallowing.

"Keep it purely professional I guess. It's what she wants and if I even want a small chance of becoming at least friends with her I do what she wants. At least for now." Frost shrugged. He wasn't sure if his partner would be able to keep that up for long. He knew Jane almost her whole life. She wasn't known for her patience.

"So you're not even slightly getting your hopes up of you two becoming something more?"

"You were there when she said she had someone in her life didn't you?" The man took a sip of his own beer.

"I was. But that question could be interpreted any way you want to. For all we know she could be talking about her dog. Or cat. Or some other pet. Doesn't necessarily have to be a person." Jane rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for that, that really brightened my day." The sarcasm dripped from the words and Frost couldn't help but chuckle. At least that part was back. "And it's a she by the way." Her partner nearly spit out his beer at those words and his wide eyes rested on hers.

"She? Seriously?" Jane merely shrugged, acting as if it didn't bother her at all. But Frost wasn't fooled. He could see the turmoil going on behind that tough exterior. But what surprised him most was that Maura seemed to actually be together with another woman.

"So all that bullshit about not being into women and what not was just… a lie?" The Detective sighed, setting her – now empty – beer down.

"It wasn't a lie. She can't lie remember? And when she told me that, there were no signs that she was lying. So maybe after I told her the truth she found that she _was_ attracted to women but just didn't know it, or she met someone and that person changed her mind. Either way, it seems to be true and there's nothing I can change about it." Frost reached out to pet her hand, albeit a little awkwardly.

"It's okay to cry you know. I know how much she meant to you." Jane snorted, pulling away from Frost and rolling her eyes.

"Right. And use your incredibly uncomfortable shoulder? I'll pass, thank you. Besides, there's other women out there. I'll find someone."

"You've been saying that for the past 20 years Jane. There wasn't anyone who got even close to Maura after you two broke up. Stop treating me like I'm some kind of idiot who has no idea what's going on. Cause I do. And I remember exactly what kind of mess you were after that night." Jane sighed. He was right. After everything and she still treated him like she was better than him.

He at least had a girlfriend. Someone who loved him for who he was. If anything, she should be more like him. Not that she would ever admit that. At least not out loud. Looking up at her partner, she gave him a smile and a punch to the shoulder.

"Sorry. Look, let's just not talk about this anymore okay? I'm done wallowing in self-pity. Let's get another beer and just enjoy the rest of the night. I'll still have the whole weekend to figure out my plan." Frost raised his eyebrows, but chose not to say anything. He would however, be on the front row when she put her plan into action.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday morning rolled by quicker than Jane had hoped and the Detective felt herself growing nervous. There was no one she would be able to hide behind from now on. She knew that Frost would do whatever he could to make it all a little bit more bearable for her, but even then. Maura had told her she was one of the best and she was going to prove to her just how good she was. She could be professional.

Entering the bull pen, she found Frost already at his desk, typing away at his keyboard. Jane raised an eyebrow as he looked up.

"What are you working on so fervently? Make up letter to Emily? Screwed up didn't you?" Frost huffed, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, I screwed something alright." Jane pulled up her nose.

"Ew Frost, I really don't need to know what you did." The man snickered, his eyes back on the screen in front of him.

"Sorry Jane, just thought you might want to live vicariously through me seeing as you're not getting any lately." The Detective snorted, throwing herself down in her chair.

"Whatever. What are you working on?" The typing stopped and Frost looked up at his partner. He looked serious.

"New lead in the Gregory case. Dr. Isles had the lab test some old fibers. Apparently they messed up last time and that's why our lead went cold. I've been working since 5 this morning to cross everything off our list. Looks like we were right though. Fibers matched the brother in law's jeans." Jane had sat up straighter during Frost's little speech.

"That's what we figured last time. But his alibi checked out. He was at home with his two kids. The neighbors confirmed it." Frost shook his head this, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I had another chat with those neighbors. They said they saw a man walking around. They never said that it was him. And when I kept pressing them, they suddenly seemed to remember some distinct features. Sandy blonde hair, 5 ft. 7, lean. Sound like anyone we know?" Jane didn't stop the smirk that made its way onto her face.

"Terry Lawrence. The gardener. Looks like he might just be more than a gardener. Let's go and bring them in shall we?" Frost nodded enthusiastically. Jane knew what the case meant to him. He had been working almost day and night to find out who killed the poor woman. "How about you take the lead with this one? You deserve it."

"Really? Thanks Jane." Jane nodded and the two headed out, ready to bring this case to a close.

R&I

Frost and Jane watched on as both Terry Lawrence and Steven Gregory were being hauled off, Steven trying his best to keep some of his dignity. Jane felt bad for his kids. Not only did they lose their father, but they also lost their aunt. The woman who was practically a second mother to them. The Detective sighed softly. She hated it when kids were involved. They didn't exactly choose their parents and then it turned out that one of them was a cold blooded killer. There was no way they would ever be able to live that down.

The clicking of heels caused Jane's eyes to stray from the struggling man and come to rest on Maura. She raised a surprised eyebrow. What was the M.E. doing up here?

"Dr. Isles. What brings you here?" Frost voiced her thoughts. Maura smiled at the man, her eyes quickly darting to where Jane's eyes were seconds before.

"I actually came by to ask if you had any use of the results I brought up to you earlier this morning. But by the looks of it, it seems you did." Jane frowned. Frost had said that he had been there since 5 that morning. Did that mean that Maura had been there since then too?

"Yeah, we caught the guys who did it. Couldn't have done it without you Doc." Maura blushed at the compliment and smiled at Frost.

"You're very welcome." With that said, Maura turned around to head back to the morgue, when Jane's voice rang out.

"What time did you get here?" The M.E. stopped and turned her head. She frowned slightly, wondering why Jane wanted to know.

"I was called in early this morning after the results of the fibers came back in. Why do you want to know detective?" Jane shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips.

"No reason. Just surprised is all. The previous M.E. didn't come in before eight if he wasn't called to a crime scene. Though I shouldn't be surprised right? You always were the best in what you did." She knew she crossed the line of being purely professional, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't as if she said anything wrong right?

"I strive to be the best detective. It – of course – doesn't mean that I am the best. Although I do appreciate the compliment. If you will excuse me, I have some more work to do. Apparently the previous M.E. wasn't one to keep track of his files." Maura once more turned around to head to the elevators and Jane didn't stop her this time. Although her words kept replaying over and over in her mind.

"Jane?" She slowly turned towards Frost, who had a smile on his face. "Progress." They shared a soft laugh and Korsak – who had come in while they were interrogating Terry – looked on in pure confusion.

Before Jane knew it, lunch rolled around and she found herself grabbing a quick snack from the café. Just as she was about to find a seat, she noticed one of the many salads they sold. Debating whether or not she should buy one and head down to the morgue to give one to Maura, she remembered the 'pure professional' relationship she agreed on. But the M.E. had to eat right? In order to do her job right. So all Jane was doing was making sure that her colleague ate. She did the same to Frost and Korsak. So why should it be any different with Maura?

After paying for the salad and taking the elevator down to the morgue, Jane stopped in front of Maura's office. The door was open and she saw the honey blonde bustling about, files strewn around everywhere. Jane's eyes widened when they took in the chaos. She had never seen anything like this before. At least not when Maura was in close proximity.

Raising her hand, she knocked on the open door, effectively gaining Maura's attention. The M.E.'s hair was tousled and her eyes were filled with frustration and anger. Jane bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. That wouldn't do her any good in this situation. She saw Maura's eyes glance down at the lunch in her hands, before settling her gaze back on the Detective's eyes.

"Detective, what can I do for you?" Maura ran a quick hand through her hair, trying to smooth it down. She failed miserably. Jane heard the frustrated huff passing through pursed lips and couldn't help herself. She chuckled.

"Actually… I figured I could do something for you." An annoyed sigh was all that filled Jane's ears and she halted her advance into Maura's office. Holding up the lunch, she tried a small smile. "I brought lunch."

And just like that she saw Maura's shoulders sag, her eyes filled with a tiredness Jane had only ever seen just before an important exam and the woman carefully let herself sit down in her chair.

"That's very sweet of you. But I don't think I have time for lunch. As you can see I have my hands full." Jane nodded as she glanced around.

"Oh, I can see that. But in order to keep going you need to eat. Besides, I can always help you after lunch. Two can do more than one right?" Maura raised an eyebrow.

"Jane." The name was said in a warning, but there was something else that the Detective couldn't quite place. But that didn't matter. She said Jane. Not Detective. That meant something.

"Hey, all I'm doing is helping another colleague out. Purely professional." She watched in delight when the corner of Maura's lips turned up.

"So, how about that lunch? I brought a salad. Figured I couldn't go wrong with that." As Jane said that, she held out Maura's lunch for her and watched with baited breath as the woman carefully grabbed it. Smiling, she walked around the desk, cleared some of the files that were lying on the ground and sat down, her back against the desk. Maura's look was one of pure confusion as she glanced down at the Detective.

"You do know I have two perfectly good chairs for you to sit in right?" Jane merely shrugged, opening her own lunch.

"Yes, but those 'perfectly good chairs' are the most uncomfortable things I have ever seen and sat on. So I prefer the ground." What happened next shocked Jane and all she could do was stare as Maura lowered herself to the ground and took a seat next to Jane, crossing her legs in front of her.

"I will try to not take offence of your words." Jane grinned like an idiot and took a bite of her lunch.

"Didn't want to offend you. Just not my taste." Maura glanced at the other woman as she took a bite from her own lunch.

"And what is your taste?" The Detective shrugged.

"Anything that's comfortable." Maura nodded, pressing on.

"Like?"

"Your bed." It was said without any second though and Jane froze mid-bite. Did she seriously just say that out loud? She didn't mean to. She hadn't even really been thinking about what they were talking about. She just said the first thing that came out loud. And as always that was the wrong thing.

"I uhh, I didn't… I meant-"

"Jane."

"I'm sorry. That wasn't professional."

A sigh. "Jane." The Detective glanced at Maura, expecting her to be angry at her, but all she saw was a small smile. She wasn't mad?

"You're not mad?" A laugh. Maura laughed. Jane frowned. What the hell was going on? Who was this person and what happened to the woman who she knew?

"No, I'm not mad. Besides, you're right. My bed was quite comfortable. Although the bed I have at home is twice as comfortable." Jane was stomped. Was Maura flirting with her? She frowned. This didn't feel right. Something was wrong.

"What are you doing?" Maura seemed genuinely confused. "Why are you being so nice? Oh, and if you didn't notice, what you just said… not professional. Na-uh, not professional at all. More flirty than anything." Again, Maura just merely smiled at her. And Jane was starting to get more and more confused about what was going on.

"Well, it's not like you're ever going to find out how comfortable it really is." Jane sighed. So she was just playing her. Great. She deserved that. Didn't mean that it didn't sting though. Looking over at Maura, the other woman's smile had vanished and the cold look she had gotten the day before had returned.

"Right. You got me there. Nice one Mau- Dr. Isles." Maura rolled her eyes, letting out a snort.

"I got you there? Please Jane. I haven't even started. When I said we should keep things professional, I was saying that to save you from further embarrassment. But seeing as you can't keep your promise – which isn't even a surprise – I guess I don't have to either." Jane – having lost her appetite – dropped her fork in her plastic container and turned away from Maura.

"Guess not." She slowly got up, glanced over at Maura one more time, before making her way across the room. It was only when she had gotten to the door, that she remember she told Maura she would help her with the files.

Turning around, she saw that Maura was already back in her chair and was looking at Jane intensely. She set her jaw, fixed her gaze and crossed her arms. Or well, as best as she could while holding her lunch.

"But I told you I'd stay and help you with all of this." She waved her arm around, motioning to all of the clutter surrounding them. "So I am. You were right that bringing you lunch and saying these things weren't entirely professional, but from now on I will be. I never go back on my promises. And I'm not starting now."

If Maura was surprised, she didn't show it. She merely held Jane's gaze. "Very well. Then let's get started." Jane nodded in agreement and threw her lunch in the trash.

"So where do we start?"

"I've made three piles. The left are all the closed cases, the middle holds all the cold cases and the right are all the on-going cases. I will then divide all the cases by year and eventually alphabetically. But first I need all these files to end up on one of these three piles. Think you can do that?" Jane didn't miss the condescending tone. She smiled sweetly. No way was she letting this woman get to her.

"Watch me Dr. Isles."

The two gazed at each other for a moment, before they got to work. It didn't take the two long to finish piling all the files and Jane bit back the comment about how well they worked together. It wouldn't be 'professional'. Rolling her eyes to herself, she grabbed one of the piles and sat down on the ground. Maura looked at her, wondering what the Detective was doing.

"What are you doing?" Jane glanced up, before continuing her work.

"You wanted to divide it by year right? Well, that's what I'm doing. And after that make sure it's on alphabetical order. That's how you wanted it right?" Maura clenched her jaw, nodding more to herself than to Jane, seeing as the other woman wasn't even looking at her.

"Good." She didn't say any more. She didn't really know what to say.

The two worked in silence the remainder of the time. The only sound that was heard was the rustling of paper and the occasional mutter from Jane when she couldn't find what she was looking for. She totally missed how Maura's demeanor changed from guarded to relaxed.

The M.E. found herself enjoying Jane's company and had to hold back a laugh more than once when Jane once again cursed under her breath. It was endearing. But of course, she would never admit that out loud. There was still too much for her to deal with. It had been hard when Jane told her the truth and she was glad she had the weekend off to deal with it.

But that dealing with it consisted of drinking wine, watching endless documentaries and talking to her Tortoise. So to be honest, she hadn't really dealt with it the way she wanted to. And it wasn't as if she could talk to anyone about this. No one knew what had happened. Not even her mother. She had simply said the two had broken up and that was it. Looking back, she never really dealt with anything that had happened. She had cried, yes. But without having anyone to confide in about what happened, she would never fully deal with it.

Another round of curses brought her out of her trance and she watched as Jane had practically her whole hand in her mouth.

"Jane what are you doing?" The Detective glared at her, then at the papers in front of her and eventually at the hand she pulled out of her mouth. Pouting, she looked at her fingers.

"Stupid paper giving me paper-cuts. Why can't you just scan these things? It would make this so much easier." She sounded like a three year old complaining. Maura chuckled.

"Oh, I'm glad you're finding this so funny." The M.E. shook her head, her curls bouncing up and down. It was enough to mesmerize Jane. When she had calmed down enough, she found the Detective staring at her openly, her eyes filled with adoration.

Maura swallowed thickly. Why did that look suddenly make her feel all weird? Shaking herself out of her reverie, she called out Jane's name. The Detective quickly stopped staring, a blush adorning her features. She looked adorable.

"I'm sorry. Do you need me to take a look at your fingers?" Jane opened her mouth to say something, but ended up just sitting there with her mouth hanging open.

She couldn't help the images of Maura kissing each finger, then her palm, her wrist and moving all the way up her arm until she finally felt those lips against hers again and-

"Jane?"

"Huh? What?" Maura bit her lip. Laughing now would be bad. Very bad.

"I asked if you wanted me to take a look at your fingers." The Detective took a deep breath, calming her racing heart and mind. Now was not the time to start daydreaming again. That would be weird.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Frowning down at her hands, she saw the lines adorning her fingers. She pouted. "These won't scar right?" Maura refrained from rolling her eyes. A trait she had picked up from Jane years ago and still seemed to possess.

"No Jane. At least not ones visible to the human eye." Jane's eyes shot up. Maura smirked. "All wounds leave scars. Even paper-cuts. But they are too small for the human eye to be able to see them. So don't worry." Jane seemed to relax considerably after that and her eyes went back to her hands. But even Maura could see she wasn't looking at the paper-cuts. She was looking at the scars on her palms.

The M.E. had wanted to ask about them when she first met the Detective. Before she knew who she really was. She had seen and heard about Charles Hoyt on the news and she knew that he had caused the scars. But what she didn't know was how it happened. Biting her tongue, she decided to go back to work. It wasn't the right time to ask. And they definitely weren't in the right place for her to expect an answer. Not yet anyway – hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks had passed since Jane helped Maura with organizing her files and the two seemed to be able to get along. Calling each other a friend would be over exaggerating, but at least they could act normal when they were around each other. Frost and Korsak had tried to get Maura to go out and get some drinks with them, but the M.E. politely declined each time. Jane had thought it was because she would be there at first, but after she had said that she wouldn't be joining them and that it would be just the three of them, Maura had said no as well. So at least it wasn't because of her. Which in turn surprised her as well.

Jane found herself talking about the M.E. with Frost as the two were ready to head out. Korsak had already left, telling them he would meet them at the Dirty Robber. Everyone needed a drink after the week they had. It was a brutal case. Especially since it involved a five year old girl. Jane had been working day and night to get the sick scumbag who raped and murdered the little girl and she had noticed that Maura seemed to be just as shaken up as her, if not more. She found the M.E. down in the morgue later than usual and she would come in earlier too. The Detective hadn't said a word, but found it hard to keep her mouth shut.

"Did you ask Dr. Isles to join us?" Jane asked Frost as she put on her coat. The other man shook his head.

"She was already gone when I got down to the morgue. Susie said she looked like hell. She couldn't wait to get home after we closed the case." Jane frowned. There was a part of her that was worried about the M.E., but another part told her that Maura was probably just tired after a long week.

However, as the two stepped into the elevator, her worries won over the other part and she told Frost to go ahead. Her partner didn't seem to care as much, merely shrugging as he walked out. Now all Jane had to do was get Maura's address and get there.

Getting the address seemed to be easier than she had thought. Of course, being Detective Rizzoli seemed to be enough for most officers to do whatever she wanted them to and she left the precinct five minutes later, address in hand.

It was a thirty minute drive and Jane wasn't surprised when she ended up in Beacon Hill. If she made as much money as Maura did she wouldn't be living in that apartment she called home either. Parking her car behind Maura's, she killed the engine. For a few minutes she just sat there, staring at the house in front of her. The lights were on and she could see Maura's silhouette moving around. Was it really smart of her to be here? They were just starting to be something close to friends. Doing this might just erase all the progress they made.

But when she heard a crash and a high pitched scream, all thoughts left her mind and she dashed out of the car, rushed up to the front door and all but threw her whole body into it to open it. She wasn't thinking clearly, all she was thinking about was that Maura could be in danger.

But what she saw made her freeze in her tracks and just stare at the scene in front of her. Maura was kneeling down, picking up broken pieces of glass from the ground and saying soft soothing words to a little girl in front of her. The scene lasted all of five seconds, when Maura seemed to hear something behind her and whipped around.

Her eyes widened as she saw Jane standing there, breathing hard, her mouth open, eyes wide. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she ran a marathon.

"Jane? What are you doing here? And why is my door hanging on two hinges instead of three?" Jane couldn't seem to concentrate on the question. Her eyes were fixed on the little girl next to Maura.

She seemed to be about five years old, tears were streaming down her face and her honey blonde curls were pushed back into a ponytail. She was staring at Jane, one of her arms wrapped around Maura's leg. The sound of a sob seemed to snap her out of her trance.

"Shit I'm sorry. I didn't… I just heard a scream and…" Jane couldn't form a coherent sentence. There were too many things going on through her mind at the moment.

She watched silently as Maura carefully set the pieces of glass aside, before bending down to pick up the little girl.

"It's okay sweetie. Everything is fine. Jane is… a friend. From work." The Detective could feel her insides squirm at the word friend. Maybe she was just saying that to soothe the little girl, but she didn't really care.

"You have a daughter." Maura smiled, pressing a kiss to the girl's temple. Her sobs seemed to have subsided and her tears stopped, but she was still clinging onto Maura.

"Very observant. Her name's Danielle." Jane's eyes shot from Maura to Danielle, before she took a hesitant step forward.

"Hey Danielle. My name's Jane. I'm a friend of your mom's." Maura watched with baited breath for the inevitable to happen. Her daughter was extremely picky when it came to people. She rarely liked anyone. And she would let it show. She would start screaming and crying and there was no stopping her until the person left.

But as Jane reached out a hand to the young girl for her to shake, she watched in complete amazement as Danielle reached forward, taking Jane's hand. The Detective grinned at Maura's daughter, making the small girl blush.

"Quite a handshake you got there." Danielle giggled, before retracting her hand and burying her head in Maura's neck. The M.E. did nothing but stare at Jane.

"What?" The Detective noticed Maura staring and when she hadn't stopped after a full minute, she was starting to get uncomfortable.

"She likes you." Jane merely shrugged, stuffing her hands in her pockets and winking at Danielle.

"Of course she does. I'm like a big teddy bear. Completely harmless. And huggable." Her sentence was directed at Maura's daughter and the M.E. watched on as Danielle bit her lip and looked at her, silently asking if she was telling the truth.

"She is. She gives the best hugs. And she catches the bad guys." Danielle's eyes widened in amazement and her mouth opened a little.

"Like you?" Maura nodded, tucking a stray hair behind her daughter's ear.

"Like me." Setting her daughter down, she smiled down at her. "How about you go and play. Jane and I need to talk." Danielle nodded and with one last smile Jane's way, she disappeared into the living room. Jane and Maura looked at each other.

"So are you going to answer my previous question?" Jane blinked a few times, having absolutely no idea what the other woman was talking about. Until Maura motioned at the door and everything came rushing back to her. She blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I was ready to come over and ring the doorbell when I heard a crash and a scream. I thought maybe you were in danger and my instincts kicked in. I can fix the door for you." Maura smiled at her, her heart warming at the explanation.

"Danielle accidentally dropped her glass. She tends to scream when something bad happens. It's her defense mechanism." Jane didn't answer. She just smirked and raised her eyebrows. Maura chuckled.

"Something she also tends to do when meeting new people. There are only a handful of people she actually likes and that includes my parents. So you can imagine how surprised I was when she actually grabbed your hand." The Detective cocked her head to the left, distinctively hearing Danielle playing in the background.

"I just happen to think that you should treat kids the same as you treat an adult. If you talk to them like they're babies they might believe you think they're stupid. And then they will definitely not like you. Besides, I wasn't lying. I'm likeable. Like a big teddy bear." Maura didn't stop the laugh that escaped her and Jane chuckled herself.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just barged in here like that. If you show me where you keep your tools I can fix the door for you. It's the least I can do." Jane jabbed a finger in the direction of the door and Maura nodded quietly. Turning on her heel, she disappeared down the hallway and Jane was left standing near the kitchen island.

A sound to her left made her look up. Danielle was peeking out from behind the couch, carefully studying Jane. The Detective smiled at the little girl, crouching down so she was at eye level with her.

"So how old are you?" Danielle slowly stepped out from behind the couch, fidgeting with the hem of her pink dress.

"Five." She held up five fingers and Jane looked at her, impressed.

"Five huh? Are you in school?" This made the girl's eyes light up and she nodded in excitement.

"Yes! I have lots of friends. Nancy, my teacher, is really sweet and she lets me play with anything I want!" Jane couldn't help the smile that lit up her features. There was something about an excited five year old.

"How many friends do you have?" Danielle frowned for a moment, letting out a small 'uhm' before holding up two hands. "Ten?" She nodded vigorously and Jane laughed softly.

"I bet they're all really cool." Again, she nodded vigorously and a few stray hairs bounced up and down around her face.

During their little talk, the two had gravitated towards each other and Jane reached out a hand to tuck a stray hair behind the girl's ear. Before she had a chance to pull away, Danielle grabbed her hand and started pulling her into the living room.

"Will you play with me?" Even though the question was posed, Jane was sure she was allowed to say no. So, she let herself be pulled into the living room and was met with a lot of Lego stones.

"You play with Legos?" Danielle nodded, her smile slightly faltering as she looked up at Jane inquisitively. "Awesome!" The excitement seemed to return tenfold and the two quickly started building.

Maura meanwhile, had seen most of their interaction and was looking on with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe how the two just got along so quickly and acted like they had known each other way longer than five minutes. To be honest, she had thought of Jane several times while raising Danielle. The raven haired woman had always been a part of her and her mind seemed to subconsciously bring her up every now and then. She had always wondered how Jane would be with Danielle and now she knew.

Wiping at her eyes, she quickly stepped into the room and made sure she was in direct view of her daughter. Her little eyes lit up when she saw her mother and she waved her arms around.

"Mommy! Look, Jay is playing with me." Jane looked up from her own Legos and smiled apologetically at the older woman.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist those big brown eyes. She definitely got the Isles look down pat." Jane laughed when Danielle frowned at her, wondering what the Detective was talking about. Maura shook her head.

"It's fine Jane. Let me just fix the door and I'll join you okay?" Jane blinked a few times and watched as Maura walked up to the door, intent on fixing it. Turning back to the little girl in front of her, she leaned forward a little.

"I'll be right back okay. I'm just going to help your mom with something and then I'll come back and play with you. Okay?" Her words were whispered and Danielle smiled conspiratorially. "Okay." With one last smile, Jane discarded her stones and stood up.

She appeared at Maura's side in a flash and she carefully took the toolbox out of the other woman's hand. Maura looked up, not having heard Jane approach.

"Told her I'd be right back. Can't let you fix something I did." Maura silently stepped aside and watched as Jane made quick work of fixing the door. She was surprised by the efficiency with which Jane worked and she felt her heart skip a beat, a familiar warmth spreading through her chest once more.

Five minutes later and Jane was already done. Thank God she didn't break anything else. Handing the toolbox back over to Maura, she walked back into the living room to find Danielle bored with the Legos. Instead, she was coloring. Jane smiled, taking a seat next to the little girl and watching as she carefully tried to color between the lines. Her tongue was poking out between her lips ever so slightly and Jane felt herself completely smitten with the little girl.

"Done with the Legos?" Danielle nodded, sparing Jane a short glance. The Detective was about to say something else, when she was suddenly handed a glass of wine. Looking up, she saw Maura smile down at her, before taking a seat on the couch.

Seeing as Danielle was still completely engrossed with her coloring, she turned her attention to Maura.

"She's absolutely adorable." Jane whispered, afraid she would ruin the moment. Maura chuckled softly.

"She is."

The two women sat beside each other in silence, watching the five year old in front of them fill the page with different colors. Jane looked at a Maura from the corner of her eye, the question on the tip of her tongue. Maura wasn't a fool. She knew exactly what Jane wanted to ask.

"Don't ask Jane." A small sigh left Jane's mouth and she nodded, taking another sip of her wine. She had to admit, it was pretty good.

Maura glanced at the clock, set her wine glass down and got her daughter's attention.

"Time for bed sweetie." The little girl pouted at her mother, shaking her head.

"I'm not tired. Can't I stay up a little longer?" Maura held back a sigh. She was always difficult to get to bed. Shaking her head, she stood up, grabbed the coloring book and set it aside.

"I'm not going to do this tonight Danielle." The five year old narrowed her eyes at her mother and crossed her arms defiantly. She was _not_ going to go to bed.

Just as Maura was ready to say something, a loud yawn got both of their attention. Jane had her arms held high above her head as she stretched, her mouth wide open. Maura's eyes flickered down to the small sliver of skin that was exposed and her mouth went dry.

"Well, if you're not going to use your bed, do you mind if I do? I'm absolutely exhausted." Danielle's eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet. She screamed a 'No!' before rushing off disappearing around the corner.

Maura just stared at where her daughter had disappeared, before looking down at a smiling Jane.

"How are you so good with children?" The Detective shrugged, wiggling around on the couch.

"I have no idea. I'm just good at everything I do I guess." She grinned cheekily and Maura rolled her eyes.

"Mom!" Biting back a laugh, she slapped Jane on the arm and walked towards her daughter's bedroom.

While Maura was tucking her daughter in, Jane took the liberty of cleaning everything up. After everything was safely put away and Maura still hadn't returned, she decided to try out the TV. After all, it was practically begging her to be turned on.

When Maura walked back into the living room, she found Jane completely engrossed in something on TV and saw that everything was cleaned up. She sighed softly. How could someone make her feel like this by doing such small things? And how was she supposed to stay mad at her when she was doing these things? She carefully sat down next to Jane snapping the Detective out of her trance.

"Uh, sorry. I couldn't resist."

"It's fine Jane. You didn't have to clean up you know." Jane shrugged, shooting Maura a smile.

"It's no big deal. I don't mind. She asleep?" The honey blonde nodded, reaching over to take her wine glass.

"Can you come over every night? I can't even remember the last time she went to bed without a fuss." Jane chuckled, winking at the older woman.

"Told you. I'm just that good." Maura laughed, swatting at Jane's arm yet again.

The two settled in next to each other, both sipping from their wine as they watched TV. It was strange how there was no awkwardness between them. It felt like the old days. When everything was good between them. And maybe it could go back to that. With a little bit of luck. They both hoped so, unbeknownst to the other.


	5. Chapter 5

"I should be heading home." Jane's announcement, made both of them feel a sense of dread. They had been watching TV for the past few hours, talking quietly. They had opted for safe topics, not once straying into unfamiliar territory. It had felt good, comfortable.

But now that it was nearing midnight, Jane figured she should be heading home. Not that she necessarily wanted to. But it would be kind of strange for Danielle if she was still here the morning after. The five year old would probably be firing off questions and she wasn't even sure how to answer the ones that were floating around in her head.

Maura nodded, smiling softly at Jane. They both stood up and Jane grabbed her coat from the back of the couch where she had dropped it earlier. Shrugging it on, she sighed softly.

"I uhh, had fun tonight." Jane's voice was soft, the Detective being afraid that she would ruin whatever they had going if she talked too loudly. Maura nodded her head in agreement, biting down on her lip.

"I'll see you Monday?" The M.E. walked her to the door, turning around shortly before opening it.

"Yes, I'll see you on Monday." Just as Maura reached out to open the door, a voice stopped behind her stopped her.

"Mommy?" Both women turned around at the soft, scared voice and they found Danielle peeking around the corner, a stuffed giraffe in her arms. Maura didn't hesitate to step forward, walking over to where her daughter was standing.

"What's going on sweetie? Did we wake you?" Danielle shook her head, sniffling.

"I had a bad dream." Maura crouched down to eye level with her daughter, reaching out a hand to caress her arm.

"It was just a dream sweetie. Everything's fine now." The little girl wiped at her eyes, before walking forward into Maura's arms.

"Can I have some milk?" The M.E. pressed a quick kiss to Danielle's hair, nodding her head.

"Sure." Walking over to the kitchen, Maura saw Jane still standing by the door, ready to leave. Her eyes were trained on Danielle, a small smile on her face as she saw the two interact with each other. Maura was a natural. And seeing the other woman with her daughter stirred something deep within Jane.

Danielle looked at Jane over her mother's shoulder, smiling at the woman.

"Jay! Will you join us?" The Detective opened her mouth to decline, but Maura quickly intervened.

"Jane has to go sweetie. You'll see her again soon." The five year old pouted, her eyes still trained on Jane.

"Really?" The Detective walked closer, smiling at the girl.

"Yeah, promise. But I have a special girl at home who needs my attention right now." When both girls gave her a confused look, Maura's slightly hurt as well, she chuckled to herself. "My dog Jo Friday." She didn't miss the relieved look on Maura's face and the suddenly very awake and excited one on Danielle's.

"You have a dog?" Jane nodded, her smile increasing in size. "Can I see her?" The Detective shrugged and fished her phone out of her pocket. Scrolling through the pictures, she eventually settled on one of Jo Friday.

Danielle squealed when she saw the York Terrier and reached out to grab Jane's phone. The Detective let her, but kept a close eye on the five year old. That was, until she saw a rock moving slowly across the floor towards her. Her eyes widened and she jumped back, pointing at the moving thing.

"What the hell is that?!" Maura glared at the woman, quickly moving to cover Danielle's ears with her hands. But fortunately, the little girl was too busy cooing at Jane's phone to hear the curse word.

"Jane! Language!" Jane smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. You're moving rock just scared me." Maura rolled her eyes. Of course she would call it a rock.

"It's not a rock. It's an African Spurred Tortoise. His name is Bass." Jane eyed the thing warily. It had stopped moving towards her, but she still didn't trust it. Or him. Or whatever.

"You're saying that it's alive?" Maura sighed exasperatedly. How could someone be so sweet one minute and absolutely annoying the next? Okay, maybe she was exaggerating just a little bit, but still.

"Yes Jane, I'm saying _he's_ alive." Turning around, she walked over to the fridge to grab some milk for Danielle to heat up. Jane just looked at the thing that was slowly continuing his was towards Jane.

"Uhh, Maura?" The M.E. looked up from her task. "It's coming over to me." The honey blonde rolled her eyes. "Does it bite?" A sigh passed her lips. "Maura?!" A smirk played across her lips. "It's glaring at me." Punching in the time on the microwave, Maura turned her eyes towards Jane. The Detective was warily staring down at the floor and the M.E. bit back a laugh.

"Well Jane. Maybe if you stop calling him 'it' he'll stop 'glaring' at you." Jane glanced at her.

"Not the time to finally learn how to use sarcasm Maur. Just… get this thing away from me."

"Come on Bass!" Jane watched as Danielle hopped off her stool and started walking the other direction, the tortoise following her every move. Jane straightened up, smirking at Maura.

"See! At least your daughter's helping me." But Maura had barely heard a word after Jane had said Maur. The nickname brought back many memories. Memories which she hadn't thought about after they had sat down to watch TV.

The beeping of the microwave snapped her out of her thoughts and she rushed to get it.

"Danielle! Your milk." Jane frowned at the M.E.'s behavior, but refrained from mentioning it. Danielle rushed back into the room, crawled onto the stool and blew on her milk. Jane quickly took this time to sit down next to the five year old and raise her feet in the air, away from Bass. At least she was safe for now.

"Careful sweetie." Maura warned, a light warning tone to her voice. She glanced over at Jane and found the other woman smiling at her. She felt her own lips turning up involuntarily and returned the smile.

The three sat in silence as Danielle finished her milk, the young girl's eyes still fixed on the screen of Jane's phone. Apparently Jo Friday was very interesting. Her small voice interrupted the silence that had enveloped them like a warm blanket.

"Jay?" The Detective looked up at the girl. "Can you bring Jo over tomorrow?" Jane opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again as she looked at Maura. Was she allowed to say yes? Or did they already have plans?

Maura saw the turmoil in Jane's eyes and stepped in. "I'm not sure if Jane is free tomorrow, Danielle." Big brown eyes looked up at her.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Jane laughed softly.

"Yeah, I'm free." She looked at Maura. "Are you sure it's okay? I don't want to mess up any plans you might have." The M.E. shook her head her.

"You're not. You're welcome to come over if you want. Although I remember you saying you were allergic to dogs?" Jane blushed lightly, ducking her head ever so slightly.

"Apparently I'm allergic to all dogs except Jo Friday. Guess it was meant to be." Sharing a small smile, she continued on. "So what time do you want me to be here?"

"Early!" They laughed at Danielle's enthusiasm.

"How about around noon?" Maura tried, shooting her daughter a look when the girl opened her mouth to object. Jane nodded, standing up from her seat.

"I'll be here." Reaching out a hand to ruffle Danielle's hair, she bit back a laugh when the five year old glared at her, her hands trying to smooth it back down.

"Good night Danny." The young girl seemed to slow her movements, her brain trying to catch up with the new nickname. A few seconds later, a grin the size of a banana appeared on her face and she turned to her mom.

"Mom! Did you hear that? Jay called me Danny!" Maura bit back a laugh, watching as the girl bounced in her seat. "I have a nickname!" Jane watched on as the girl smiled at her, her excitement infectious.

"All right! I'm gonna go home and I will see you girls tomorrow." Danny nodded vigorously. "I'll see myself out." With one last smile and wink Maura's way, the Detective let herself out, hearing Danny talk about her new nickname as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

Jane pulled up behind Maura's car the next afternoon, Jo next to her. The small dog was moving around in her seat, barely able to wait to get out and sniff out her new surroundings. Jane stepped out, Jo quickly jumping out of the car as well. She made quick work of sniffing everything she could and Jane let her. Walking up towards the front door, she rang the doorbell. Something she should've done last night.

Chuckling to herself, Jane let her mind wonder back to yesterday's events. She would've never thought things would go the way they did and that she would be back the following afternoon. Taking a deep breath, she watched as the door was opened and Maura was revealed. She was wearing a pink top, blue skinny jeans and brown boots. Or at least that was what she was wearing in Jane's eyes. Maura would probably have some weird name for the colors and wouldn't hesitate going off into one of her many fact induced speeches.

"Jane, hi!" The honey blonde smiled warmly at the younger woman and Jane vaguely wondered if she had been dreaming everything that had happened 20 years ago. Returning the smile, Jane felt her heart skip a beat.

"Hey Maur. You look amazing." She let her eyes take in the sight once more, her eyes lingering at Maura's chest. The M.E. blushed lightly, before a bark caught her attention.

"Oh, you must be Jo Friday." The little dog barked happily, jumping up and down in front of Maura. Jane laughed.

"She always gets excited when meeting new people. Definitely didn't get that from me." Maura laughed, bending down to scratch the little creature behind her ear.

A giggle behind them made them look at the little girl who was curiously watching her mother give the small dog her attention. Jo – seeing someone new to befriend – rushed over to the little girl and nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Jo!" Jane's warning fell on deaf ears, as Danny giggled even louder and Jo just kept on running circles around the five year old. The Detective sighed in frustration and was ready to intervene, when a hand on her chest stopped her.

Maura was looking at Danny with a small smile, tears shining in her eyes. Jane, thinking that Maura was upset, quickly closed the door behind her and came to stand next to the M.E.

"Maur, you okay?" The concern in Jane's voice made her eyes stray over to the Detective and she let a few tears fall. Quickly wiping them away, she smiled at Jane.

"Yes. I've just never seen Danny this happy. She's been sad and lonely since we've been here and I have tried everything to bring back the happy girl she used to be." Jane was confused. When she met her last night, she seemed to be happy and excited and everything a five year old was.

"I guess you do bring out the best in people." Now Jane was even more confused. And apparently it showed, because Maura smiled at her, and squeezed her arm.

"I'll explain later. But please refrain Jo Friday from licking my daughter. It's not very sanitary." Maura pulled a face and Jane chuckled.

"Gotcha." Jogging up to the giggling girl and seemingly untiring dog, she grabbed Jo in her arms.

"So you met Jo huh? Jo, this is Danny. Maura's daughter. Be nice and don't lick her okay?" Jo looked at her, her eyes wide. Slowly leaning in, she stuck out her tongue and licked Jane from her chin to the eyebrows.

Jane pulled a face, pushing Jo away from her. Danny laughed heartedly, pointing at Jane. The Detective narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out the five year old.

"Careful. You never know when the Tickle Monster decides to pay a certain Danielle Isles a visit." The young girl's eyes widened in shock and she quickly dashed away from Jane.

"No! Not the Tickle Monster!" Jane laughed loudly, let Jo go and stood up in time to see Maura coming her way, shaking her head.

"No running Danny!" Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Danny huh?" Maura rolled her eyes.

"Apparently _someone_ called her that and now she wants to be called Danny. She won't listen to Danielle anymore. I've tried. Several times. But she had the nerve to ignore everything I said when I called her by her name." Jane had the decency to blush.

"Sorry. I just figured it would be easier calling her Danny." Maura smiled at her, no malice to be found in her eyes.

"It's fine Jane. You should know me well enough to know I'd speak up if there was anything I didn't approve of." Jane nodded, knowing this as well. It didn't stop her from feeling she was somehow trespassing however.

"Jay!" The voice of Danny made her look up just in time to see honey blonde hair crash into her. Jane let out a small 'oomph' at the force of the impact.

"I'm glad you're here." The Detective was stunned into silence, not knowing exactly how to respond to something like this. Clearing her throat, she smiled down at the girl.

"Me too." Maura watched on, a lump forming in her throat. How could something like this make her feel the way she was?

"So… what's the plan for today?" Jane's voice snapped her out of her trance and she looked down at her daughter, silently telling her that she could tell Jane.

"We're going out for a picnic at the park! You're coming too right?" the Detective nodded.

"Of course! I wouldn't want to miss it." She quickly glanced over at Maura, again, the feeling that she was trespassing returning. But one reassuring smile from Maura set her at ease and she smiled down at Danny.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Danny's laugh filled the room and the two made quick work of making a lunch for the three of them and they piled into Maura's car within no time.

They reached the park fifteen minutes later and as Jane and Maura carried their things, they watched as Danny rushed after Jo. Maura called out for her not to go too far and the two fell in step.

"So what did you mean earlier? About her not being a happy kid? She seemed pretty damn happy to me last night." Maura sighed softly, looking up at the sky.

"She wasn't exactly happy when I told her we'd be moving to Boston. She had friends – that's who she was referring to when you asked – and she was happy. I told you that she didn't like many people and it seemed that moving only intensified that. She's barely made any friends in Kindergarten and the teacher – Nancy – said that she didn't really make an effort either. I've tried talking to her, but she won't listen to me. I think she still resents me for moving." Jane nodded, taking everything in.

"Where exactly did you live before moving here?" Maura let her eyes roam around for a minute before answering Jane's question.

"Africa." The Detective stopped dead in her tracks. Maura sighed, already dreading the reaction.

"Wait. You went to Africa and got pregnant? Why were you there in the first place? Wait, never mind… please just don't tell me that you slept with a…" Jane trailed off, not finishing her sentence. Maura turned around to look at her.

"That's racist Jane. But no. I met another doctor there and we hit it up. I didn't mean to get pregnant, it just happened." Jane snorted, wanting to cross her arms in front of her, but finding it hard to do while carrying a lunch basket.

"First of all, it's hit it off and second of all, how do you just 'happen' to get pregnant? What, you fell on his dick or something?" Maura narrowed her eyes at the other woman.

"I'm sorry Jane, but you don't exactly have the right to condescend me at this moment. If I remember correctly, you deceived me for months and when you finally told me the truth you had the decency to believe I would just forgive you. So you don't have the right to be talking to me like you own me." Jane snorted, shaking her head.

"I'm not talking to you as if I own you Maura. I just don't understand how you could… you've always told me that you weren't like all those girls that get pregnant before marrying someone. You had strong beliefs about that kind of thing. So what changed?" The honey blonde averted her eyes.

"It wasn't planned Jane. We were using protection and I was even on the pill. So it wasn't as if I was trying to get pregnant." Jane's eyebrows shot into her hairline. She whistled.

"Damn, he's got some good sperm. You should've saved some for the future." Maura frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Detective sighed, closing her eyes. She shouldn't have said that.

"Nothing. Just forget I said that. Look, you're right. It's your life, I don't have any right to be talking as if we're together. I had that chance and I ruined it." Both women looked at each other for a moment, letting everything sink in.

"We can't just go around acting like friends Jane. Not when we haven't spoken about and dealt with everything that happened twenty years ago. I've tried, but I find myself thinking back to then. And then I get angry… at you. Angry about the fact that you've wormed your way back into my life and that I'm letting you." Good, this was good, they were talking. Jane swallowed, waiting for Maura to finish her story.

"When you first told me who you were I couldn't believe it. A part of me wanted to yell at you, tell you to leave me alone. But another part of me was happy. During these twenty years you've entered my mind several times and each time I blamed you for it. But that wasn't fair. It wasn't your fault that I kept thinking of you. But it was your fault for making me fall in love with you and breaking my heart when I finally had the nerve to admit it."

"And I'm sorry for that. I apologized for everything Maura. I don't know what else you want me to do. I kept away from you like you wanted me to, I never contacted you again. So what is it you want from me?"

The honey blonde bit her lip, trying – but failing – to keep the tears at bay. She shook her head wildly. She didn't even know what she wanted herself. She wanted to be angry at Jane, wanted to yell at her. But she also wanted to kiss her. Tell her that she was wrong years ago and that she should've forgiven her. But it was all so hard and complicated. Jane had betrayed her. She had given her heart to Jane and the younger woman had stomped on it.

But when the Detective had come back into her life she found that she didn't care as much as she thought she would. Yes, she was still angry at her, but the hatred she had felt back then was completely gone. And the more she saw her with Danny, the less mad she got. It almost felt… normal. So, what was it she really wanted from her? The answer was simple really.

"I want you in my life." Jane's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She stood there like that for several minutes and Maura wondered if she had broken her. Of course she knew that it was physically impossible. Unless she broke every bone in her body. But Jane took a very long time to answer. Or show any signs that she understood what Maura had said.

"Jane?" The Detective snapped her mouth shut and she looked at Maura.

"Are you serious? Aren't you first supposed to yell at me or something? Fight with me. Want nothing to do with me? I don't understand." The honey blonde walked up to the other woman, reaching out to rest a hand on Jane's arm.

"I've been angry at you for 20 years. No, I've been angry at eighteen year old Jane Rizzoli. The Jane standing in front of me now is a completely different woman. You throw your heart into your job, you care about seeking justice for all those victims, and you keep your promises. You're an amazing woman Jane. It just took me a moment to figure it all out. I won't blame you if you need some time to think this all through, but know that I'll be here. I'll wait for you."

Jane was left standing there, watching as Maura walked off and Danny came running up to her, Jo Friday hot on her heel. She had no idea what just happened. One moment Maura was telling her that she was still mad at her and the next she told her she had forgiven her and wanted her in her life. The Detective sighed. There were moments when she didn't understand Maura when they were younger. She had a feeling that things were about to get more complicated than ever.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: All right, so after that last chapter I got some reviews about Jane making a racist comment. I'm sorry if I offended anyone with that, that was not my intention. Nor was it my intention to make it come across as racist. Please forgive me for that slip up and let's continue the story!_**

* * *

So Maura wanted her in her life. That was good right? It meant that they were back on track of becoming friends. Or did Maura mean back in her life as more than friends? Jane had no idea what the honey blonde meant. She had simply said those six words and had left Jane standing there, mulling over the thousand things she could've meant by that.

She had seemed in a complete trance as she followed Maura to a patch of shadow, laying down the blanket and setting the rest of their stuff down. She didn't even remember taking out a water bottle and chugging half of it in one go. She didn't remember Maura telling Danny to stay close as she went off to play and she surely didn't remember Maura sitting down next to her and leaning into her side. Had her arm always been laying across Maura's shoulders?

The Detective held back a sigh. She had found things complicated enough before Maura had said those words. And now she had no idea what to say or do to ease the awkwardness she was feeling. Surely Maura had to be feeling it too right? But the honey blonde seemed so comfortable and content sitting there watching her daughter run around playing with Jo that Jane doubted it. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that something would sail passed the M.E.

She could just ask though. Ask her what exactly she meant. But she thought that Maura thought that she knew exactly what the honey blonde meant, so she opted to stay quiet and figure it out herself. If the position they were in was anything to go by, it meant that Maura wanted her in her life as more than a friend right? Or she just felt comfortable enough around Jane to sit like this. The Detective wanted to scream, she was so terribly confused right now and everything she thought about just made it worse.

Maura on the other hand, was completely oblivious to Jane's inner turmoil. She was content, happy even. It was strange. Right after she had told Jane she wanted her in her life a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and everything seemed to just fall into place. She couldn't stay mad at Jane anymore. Everything that had happened, happened 20 years ago. It didn't feel right anymore. And the honey blonde had never felt so good about letting something go. Snuggling even closer into Jane's side, she chuckled to herself as she watched Danny dance around Jo, the dog barking happily. They were an odd couple.

"Maura?" The honey blonde looked up at the Detective, a smile gracing her features.

"Are you uhh… okay… with this?" It took Maura a moment to figure out that 'this' meant their position and she frowned. Of course she was okay with it, she was the one that initiated it. If she left it up to Jane they would be sitting on opposite ends of the blanket, putting enough space for both Danny and Jo to stretch out in between them.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" Jane shrugged, clearly not having an answer to the question and the younger woman turned her gaze back towards Maura's daughter. She just wanted to say something… anything.

"Jane?" Jane swallowed, praying to God that Maura wouldn't ask.

"Are we okay?" And too late. Jane sighed internally. Normally she was always so good at keeping her emotions in check. But when it came down to Maura she seemed to be an open book. Looking down at the honey blonde, she bit her lip. Was sarcasm the right way to go? Of course not, it never was and especially not when it came to Maura. She would interpret it wrong and then things would go downhill from there. So she chose the truth.

"Yeah. Just… trying to figure things out y'know?" It wasn't a lie. They weren't fighting. Or at least not to Jane's knowledge. Maura cocked her head to the side, obviously trying to read the Detective.

"Don't do that." Maura raised an eyebrow. "Don't analyze me. You always do that." The honey blonde smirked, keeping her gaze steady. "Maura!" And a whine did it. She laughed softly, before placing her head on Jane's shoulder.

She knew the Detective was going to need time to process this. And she wasn't going to push her to say or do anything she wasn't a hundred percent sure of. Luckily for the both of them, Maura had a lot of patience.

They stayed like that for about another half an hour, before Maura decided it was time for lunch. Calling over Danny, the young girl all but rushed back, Jo hot on her heel, her tongue hanging out. Maura – always prepared – pulled out a water bowl and filled it with some water. Jo happily lapped the liquid up, Jane reaching to scratch her behind her ear.

Danny plopped down in her mother's lap, breathing hard. Looking up at her mother, she grinned cheekily.

"Peanut butter and fluff?" Jane's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't seen Maura make a peanut butter and fluff sandwich. She hadn't even seen the two things in the other woman's kitchen. But Maura pressed a kiss to Danny's temple and reached into the picnic basket. And there it was. A peanut butter and fluff sandwich. Danny happily started munching on it and Jane looked at Maura.

"You actually kept eating that?" The honey blonde shrugged, taking a bite of her own sandwich as she handed Jane one as well.

"I would be lying if I said it wasn't good. Besides. It reminded me of you." Jane was quiet as she looked at Maura. She was starting to think that Maura did want her as more than a friend. The honey blonde smiled hesitantly, hoping that she hadn't crossed a line there. But when Jane returned it, she relaxed.

"Jay? Will you come play with me?" Danny had already finished her lunch and was standing up. Jane looked down at her own sandwich. She had barely taken a bite and the five year old had already finished it.

"Let me finish my sandwich first okay?" Danny nodded enthusiastically, her small body bouncing over to the basket of toys Maura had brought. She rummaged through it for a few minutes, both Jane and Maura wondering what would come out. She eventually stood back up, a soccer ball in hand. Jane raised her eyebrows.

"She's definitely completely different than you. No doubt about it." Maura chuckled softly, finishing of her sandwich.

"I know. That's why she reminds me of you so much." Jane looked shocked.

"Of me? Why?" The honey blonde shrugged, playing with the label on the bottle of her water.

"I don't know. She just does. The way she acts sometimes, or says things. It both scares me and makes me incredibly happy at the same time." She looked up to see the stunned look on Jane's face. Blushing, she quickly retaliated. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. It's probably too much, too fast." The Detective took a minute to respond, reaching out a hand to place it on Maura's arm.

"It just surprised me is all. Though most people would say they look like their father if they like soccer and playing rough." She grinned cheekily, a small dose of sarcasm lining her words. Maura smiled.

"Well, her father doesn't like any of those things." Jane placed a hand on her heart, a shocked look in her eyes.

"Oh no! Did Maura Isles find someone who is even more feminine than herself! Are you sure he wasn't gay?" She whispered the last part, lowering her head conspiratorially. Maura giggled softly. She lowered her own head, matching Jane's whisper.

"Oh, he certainly wasn't gay." Jane's eyes widened and she pulled back sharply.

"Ew Maura. So did not need to know that. You're even worse than Frost." The M.E. laughed heartedly, getting Danny's attention, who saw that Jane's sandwich had disappeared.

"Jay! Come on!" Jane vaguely wondered how the girl could be so excited all the time, but figured it was probably her age. Besides, she would be worn out completely by the time they got back home. Or at least, it's what she hoped.

Jane got up, smiled down at Maura, before walking off with Danny, the girl suddenly talking about everything and anything. The Detective couldn't help but think of a miniature version of Maura. Was the other woman this cute when she was five years old? Jane wished she could've known her then. Shaking her head, she focused on Danny. The girl had quite a kick.

They passed the ball around for a while, before Jo Friday suddenly joined them, apparently being sufficiently rested. The two laughed as they kicked the ball over to each other, Jo trying to get a hold of it each time, but never quite succeeding. Jane didn't know how long they were playing, but she saw the other girl start to get tired. Stepping on the ball, she effectively halted the game, glancing down at her watch to see it was already nearing five.

"Hey, how about we call it quits? I'm getting kind of tired." Then as an afterthought, Jane added. "And hungry." Danny didn't fight it, she nodded her head, rubbed her eyes and walked over to Jane, holding her arms out. Jane scooped down, lifting the small girl and placing her on her hip.

She was lighter than she looked. Smiling down at the tired five year old, Jane couldn't help but press a quick kiss to her head. Danny smiled and snuggled into Jane even more. The Detective kicked the ball in front of them, Jo seemingly not interested anymore without Danny and they quickly reached Maura, who was already packing up.

Looking over at the two girls, Maura smiled fondly. "Is she not too heavy for you?" Jane was quick to shake her head. She didn't want to let go of the girl anytime soon.

"She's not as heavy as she looks."

The two made their way back to the car, Jane carrying the – now empty – picnic basket and Danny and Maura carrying the rest. By the time they made it to the car, Jane rethought her earlier thoughts and was happy to place Danny down. The girl was barely awake and she didn't make any sound as Maura strapped her in. Jo was quick to jump in the car, curling up as close to Danny as she could.

"Looks like she made a new friend." Jane whispered, leaning in to Maura. The honey blonde looked up, nodding her head in agreement.

"Looks like."

"So… home? Or, well… you're place?" Jane blushed at the small slip up, but Maura seemed to barely notice. Instead, she nodded her head.

"We can put Danny down for a nap and… spend some time together?" Wasn't that what they just did? But one look in Maura's eyes told her enough. Time together _without _Danny around.

Why did it suddenly make Jane nervous and sweaty and all kind of giddy? Of course, because it was Maura Isles. The woman who always seemed to be able to make her feel things with one simple look.

"Sounds good." She was surprised her voice sounded normal. Glancing at Danny one more time, the two women got in the car and made their way home, a comfortable silence enveloping them.

* * *

Jane watched from the doorway as Maura tucked her daughter in, placing one last kiss on the top of her head before silently leaving the room, leaving the door just a crack open.

"Are you hungry?" Maura asked, looking up at Jane who had a look of complete adoration and awe in her eyes. Maura blushed, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Uhh, yeah." It was strange how a simple scene of a mother tucking her daughter in stirred such a strong feeling inside of Jane. It was kind of like a domestic sense of feeling, but Jane quickly pushed that thought away. She barely knew the kid.

"Would you like to order something?" Jane pondered over the question for a minute, before shaking her head.

"Would you mind if I cooked us something?" Maura seemed surprised at the question, but wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to have Jane Rizzoli cook. The thought alone made her feel slightly… aroused?

"Not at all. Make yourself at home. What are we eating?" Jane smirked, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"How about Spaghetti? Made my way of course." Maura grinned.

"Sounds delicious. But please don't use any cheese. Danny won't eat anything that has cheese in it." Jane chuckled, nodding her head in agreement.

"Gotcha. No cheese. Although we do have some time before I actually have to start. The Spaghetti will be done in no time. Don't think Danny will be up by then." The M.E. couldn't help but agree and with a nod, she got the two of them some drinks and joined Jane in the backyard.

The Detective was looking around, impressed with Maura's garden. In the short amount of time she moved in, she had definitely done a lot. Accepting the wine Maura offered her, she sat down on the grass. Patting the spot beside her, she saw Maura's eyes widen in horror.

"I'm not going to sit on the grass Jane. Those stains take a considerable amount of time to get out." Jane rolled her eyes, sighed and made a show of taking off her jacket. Laying it down next to her, she patted the spot again.

"Happy?" But the horrified look in Maura's eyes only increased and she scrambled to grab Jane's jacket from the grass, inspecting it and – satisfied it hadn't stained yet – folded it and placed it aside.

Jane could only watch as Maura went about her business, a smirk playing on her lips. Then, silently, she watched on as Maura disappeared inside and came back with the picnic blanket seconds later. Okay, so that was also a solution.

Lying down next to each other, they looked up at the clouds, Jane pointing out a strange figure now and then. So far, they had seen a fish, a bird, a house and – Maura's favorite – a turtle. Although the honey blonde had quickly intervened and called it a tortoise. Jane let her.

"Can I ask you something?" The seriousness in Jane's tone made Maura turn her head towards the other woman.

"Of course." Maura, thinking that this was because of their earlier conversation was ready to answer any questions. But Jane's next question surprised her.

"Is Danny's dad still in Africa?" The honey blonde averted her eyes back to the sky. She knew this question would be coming, just not now. Sighing softly, she started playing with the hem of her pink top.

"Yes. I told you before that my pregnancy wasn't exactly planned. And he wasn't the kind of person who wanted a child. Or at least not now. With everything he had going on a child just didn't fit in his schedule. We tried though. But Danny and her father eventually grew estranged and I found that I had nothing left in Africa."

"So you moved here?" Maura nodded.

"Yes. He and I… it didn't work. There wasn't enough there between us. I loved him. But I just wasn't in love with him. And I cared more about Danny than about trying to make it work between us. So I thought a fresh start would do us both good. But I never thought Danny would have trouble fitting in." Jane kept quiet. What was she supposed to say to this?

"But she seems to be opening up after meeting you." Both women turned their heads to look at each other, finding themselves lost in each other's eyes. "Thank you Jane." The whisper made the hairs on Jane's arms stand up.

"For what?" Her voice cracked.

"For being here." Maura slowly reached out, finding Jane's hand and holding on tightly. The Detective let her eyes flutter closed at the contact. Letting their fingers entwine with each other, Jane smiled softly. This… right now. This was perfect. And for just a moment, she let herself stop thinking about what all of this could mean.


	7. Chapter 7

Jane and Maura were just finishing the dishes, Danny on the couch in the living room, Pokémon playing on the TV in the background. Everything the little girl did made Jane wonder if she was anything like Maura at all. Apart from the occasional 'google-mouth', Danny was the complete opposite.

Dinner had gone smoothly, Danny and Maura had both found Jane's Spaghetti delicious and they decided the Italian needed to come over to cook for them more often. Jane had almost blushed. Almost. She had grinned though. Big enough to light up the room and the M.E. found herself staring on more than one occasion.

Jane had been enjoying herself all day, but her previous thoughts had returned the moment she and Maura let go of each other's hands. She still couldn't make any sense of the situation. And even less of Maura's behavior. After her little rant and confession, the M.E. had done a complete one-eighty. It was almost as if Jane was talking to the Maura she knew twenty years ago.

"It's almost time for Danny to go to bed." Maura's whisper brought her out of her thoughts and she nodded absentmindedly. She had been pretty much washing these dishes on auto-pilot. Maura noticed.

"Why don't you go tuck her in? I'll finish the rest." The honey blonde nodded. With a squeeze to Jane's arm and a smile, she made her way over to her daughter.

Once the two disappeared, Jane let all the tension from the previous days finally roll off her. Gripping the counter top tightly, she watched her knuckles go white. What was she supposed to? Go along with Maura? Act as if nothing was wrong? Tell her she wanted her in her life as well?

It all seemed too good to be true. Too easy. There was no way Maura would just forgive her like this. There had been so much anger and sadness in those eyes a few weeks ago. That shouldn't be enough time for someone to overcome what Maura had went through. Besides, how could she trust Jane so easily? And with her daughter nonetheless. It all confused Jane to no end.

It was how Maura found her twenty minutes later. Gripping the counter top for dear life, her eyes screwed shut. She was breathing heavily and Maura wondered if she was having another panic attack. Yet she knew the reason for the first one the moment she found out about Jane.

Stepping closer hesitantly, she stopped herself from reaching out. Instead, she chose to call out.

"Jane?" Swallowing nervously, she found the Detective unresponsive. "Jane?" It was more forceful this time – but yet again – no answer. Now she was starting to get worried.

"Jane?!" The Italian nearly jumped out of her skin. Her eyes were wide as she looked around herself. Finally, they settled on Maura and the M.E. watched as she visibly relaxed.

"Jeez Maur. You scared the shit outta me." Jane's voice was huskier than usual and the Detective ran a shaky hand through her hair. Maura had had enough. She couldn't stand seeing Jane like this.

Stepping forward, she reached for the Detective's hand, lacing their fingers together as she locked eyes with the younger woman.

"Talk to me Jane." Jane sighed, raising one eyebrow

"Red Sox are playing tomorrow. Gotta pretty big chance of winning." Jane mentally cursed herself. Why did she always resort to sarcasm at times like this? It was like she was physically incapable of having a serious conversation. Not work related of course.

"Jane please. Something's bothering you. Please tell me what it is." Jane bit her tongue. What was she supposed to say? Luckily though, she didn't have to say anything. At least not for now. Maura steered them both to the couch, leaving Jane momentarily to pour them both a glass of wine. Maybe that would help loosen Jane up a bit.

Jane smiled in thanks as she accepted the glass, taking a rather generous sip. She tensed when she felt Maura sit down beside her, the honey blonde sitting too close for comfort. But she wasn't going to move away. That would be a cowardice move. And she wasn't a coward.

The two sat in relative silence for a while. Jane wondering how to bring up the – apparently – inevitable conversation and Maura doing everything in her power to stop herself from biting on her nails. It had started to become a habit. A very bad one at that. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore and she turned to face Jane fully.

"Just tell me Jane. I can handle it." Jane brought her glass to her lips one more time, drowning the contents before setting it down on the table in front of her. She sighed deeply, tiredness creeping over her.

"Why Maura?" She knew the honey blonde would have no idea what she meant. The question could indicate to a variety of things, but she just didn't have the energy to elaborate.

"Why what?" But she was going to have to. Clearing her throat, she found it had gone dry. Every time she tried to swallow, it felt as if she was trying to swallow a cotton ball. Her eyes darted to Maura's glass. The honey blonde had only taken one sip. But she decided against it. They needed to have this conversation sober.

"Why are you suddenly okay with me? Being here. In your life. In your daughter's life. What changed? 'Cause one moment you were trying not to yell at me, telling me that I ruined your life and the next you say you want me in it. So which one is it? 'Cause I'm slowly starting to go crazy here and even my normal sarcastic comments won't give me any satisfaction." Jane sounded like she hadn't slept in days, her voice deeper and raspier than Maura had ever heard it. She swallowed down the emotions it delivered and instead continued on the questions she was being asked.

Licking her lips, she swallowed once. "There isn't a simple answer to this Jane. I could tell you that I've forgiven you and that I've moved on. That all I want is for us to start over. But that would only be the half of it. To be completely honest, I'm not entirely too sure of this myself. But I've spent these twenty years living in regret." Jane felt complete shock and confusion seep into every poor and she stared at Maura in disbelief.

Maura continued, averting her eyes to her fidgeting hands. "I was so mad at you at first. But afterwards… I found myself lonely. I found myself wishing for your presence. For you to be there. For you to hold me. But I never dared to pick up the phone and call you. I was afraid." The honey blonde felt tears pricking behind her ears. Jane moved even closer, their thighs touching. Reaching out a hand, she grabbed a hold of Maura's. Giving it a small squeeze, she silently asked her to continue.

"I've always tried to be the perfect daughter. Falling for another woman isn't something an Isles should do. It would be considered atrocious. Perhaps I chose the easy way out, but at the time it seemed the best solution. And after a while I just…" Maura trailed off, feeling Jane squeeze her hand once more.

The tears fell then, slowly, silently. Jane didn't hesitate to pull the other woman into her, circling her arms around Maura. She pressed her lips to the top of Maura's head.

"I'm sorry Jane. I should've picked up the phone and called you. I should've told you that it didn't matter to me but…" The honey blonde had a decency to trail off, sighing as she did so. Jane shook her head, tightening her hold on Maura.

"I don't blame you Maura. Hell, I should thank you. I can't believe you would ever be able to forgive me after what I did, but you did. Which I actually still don't understand, but I'm not questioning it now. I'm a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. Besides, if you did call me, you might never have ended up with Danny." Maura sighed, snuggling into Jane's embrace even more. The Detective smiled softly.

"Are we done talking about this now?" Maura's voice was slightly muffled. Jane chuckled.

"Not by far. But for tonight? Yeah. It's getting too sappy for me."

"What, is the big bad Jane Rizzoli scared to show her soft side?" Maura pulled back slightly to smirk up at Jane. The Detective rolled her eyes.

"Psh, scared. Have you met me? Scared isn't even in my dictionary." This time it was Maura's turn to roll her eyes.

"Movie?" Jane smiled. And nodded her head.

* * *

Maura smiled at the sight next to her. Jane laid – sprawled out – on the couch. The Detective's feet were in Maura's lap and her head was facing the TV, her eyes closed. Soft snores were coming from the other woman and Maura chuckled to herself. Looks like Danny wasn't the only one that was exhausted from today's events.

The M.E. bit her lip. The sight before her was just way too cute. It was a complete different side of Jane. She looked worry free. Removing the Italian's feet from her lap, she stood up carefully. Jane smacked her lips together, seeming to snuggle even further into the couch. Maura sighed, shaking her head in amusement. She almost felt bad for waking Jane up. Almost.

"Jane." She gently shook the other woman, watching chocolate brown orbs make their appearance. The sight of a sleepy Jane made Maura's breath hitch, an all too familiar feeling coming over her.

"Maura? What's going on?" Jane sat up, rubbing her eyes as she did. She was incredibly tired and comfortable. The honey blonde better had a damn good reason for waking her up.

"You can't sleep on the couch sweetie. It's not good or your back." Jane merely hummed, a yawn – practically swallowing her face – following.

"Too tired to drive." Maura laughed, tugging on Jane's hand.

"You can sleep here. Come on." Jane let herself be led to – what she thought to be – the guest room.

The Detective was pretty much in a complete daze, not even bothering to wait for Maura to close the door before stripping down to her underwear. She got under the covers, relishing in the warmth and comfort that immediately enveloped her. God, Maura had good taste. She moaned in appreciation, ready to succumb to the Sand Man, when she felt the bed beside her dip.

Cracking open her eyes, she found Maura getting under the covers as well, moving around before finally getting comfortable.

"Shouldn't you get to your bedroom?" The question made Maura chuckle. The Italian was just too adorable when she was tired.

"This is my bedroom silly." It took a full minute for the reality of that statement to sink in and Jane bolted upright when it finally did, fully awake now.

She hugged the blankets to her body, trying to shield Maura from seeing what she had already seen minutes before. Her eyes darted around, as if confirming that she was indeed in Maura's bedroom.

"Jane, relax. Lie back down." The honey blonde was confused. Why would sleeping in the same bed be such a problem? They had done much more intimate things previously.

"I thought you were bringing me to your guest room?" Maura shook her head, now in a sitting position herself.

"I don't have one. The one I had was turned into a home office and the other room is Danny's room." She looked down at her lap, playing with a few loose strands. She should get rid of these blankets before they got much worse. "But if you're uncomfortable then…" For the umpteenth time that night, she let herself trail off, leaving Jane to fill in the rest.

The Detective sighed, a feeling of guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't uncomfortable – per se – she was just shocked that she was laying in the same bed as Maura. Almost completely naked.

"It's fine. I was just surprised. But do you have something for me to wear?" Hazel eyes met her and she found herself smiling involuntarily.

Maura's answer was to get up and get a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt for the younger woman. She motioned to the bathroom and watch Jane rush off, trying to hide as much of her body as possible. Maura rolled her eyes.

Jane returned a few minutes later, fully dressed and feeling much better. Her eyes were already drooping when she got under the covers once more and she turned on her side to face Maura. The honey blonde studied her for a moment, before finally voicing her thoughts.

"You have an amazing body Jane. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Jane – who had been watching Maura watch her – shrugged.

"Who said I am?" Maura raised an eyebrow, causing Jane to chuckle.

"We're barely friends Maura. And last time I checked, friends don't see other friends naked." The honey blonde huffed.

"You were barely naked Jane."

"I was in my underwear!"

"Thus not naked."

"Thus? Who says that anymore? And I so was!"

"It's a very commonly used word, originated before 900, cognate to the Dutch word 'dus'. And you were _not_ naked Jane. Besides, you don't have anything I don't, _thus_ you have nothing to be embarrassed about." Maura smirked. Jane rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for the history lesson Einstein and again, who said I was embarrassed?" Maura sighed, moving around to get more comfortable.

"You practically ran towards the bathroom Jane. You almost fell over your own feet! What were you then, if not embarrassed?" Maura smirked, knowing she had Jane. The Detective however, wasn't loosing without a fight.

"First of all, it's tripping over your own feet and second of all I was just cold! That's why I ran to the bathroom. To get there and get dressed as quickly as possible." The honey blonde was quiet, trying to hold back her laughter.

"If you were so cold, you could've just changed here. But you didn't, because you were embarrassed. It's okay to admit it Jane. I'm just trying to tell you that you're beautiful and don't have anything to be embarrassed about." Jane groaned, throwing her arm over her eyes.

"I have never heard that word that many times. If I tell you you're right, will you stop?" The honey blonde shrugged in response. "Fine, I was embarrassed! Happy now? Jeez, you're like a dog with a bone." Maura – who had been chuckling in victory – stopped as a frown overtook her features.

"What does a dog and a bone have to do with this? Is this one of your many insufferable jokes? Because I don't understand those. And neither do I understand this." Jane looked shocked and genuinely offended.

"Hey! My jokes aren't insufferable!" Maura rolled her eyes.

"You're right, I'm sorry. _You're _insufferable." She smiled when she saw Jane's eyes narrow down to slits.

"You're gonna take that back Maura." She raised a defiant eyebrow.

"Or what?" Jane grinned, moving dangerously closer. She leaned in, her lips brushing Maura's ear as she spoke.

"Or the Tickle Monster is going to pay you a visit." To emphasize her point, she let her hand brush against Maura's side, the M.E. wriggled around, trying to create more distance between them.

But Jane had snuck a hand behind Maura's back, holding her firmly in place. The honey blonde looked up at Jane with weary eyes. She wouldn't dare would she? Licking her lips nervously, she could start to feel the effects of Jane's body pressed to hers. Taking a shuddering breath, she released it quickly.

"I take it back. You're not insufferable." She watched as Jane's eyes filled with disappointment and her lips turned into a pout. Maura quickly averted her gaze. The temptation to kiss Jane was just too overwhelming. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

But when Jane moved back slowly and she felt like she could breathe again, Maura felt herself relax. She hated however, the fact that she was already missing the feeling of Jane pressed against her. How could something like this make her feel excited and scared at the same time?

"You're lucky I'm in a forgiving mood tonight. And that the Tickle Monster seems to be tired. But you won't be so lucky next time." With a wink and yet another monstrous yawn, Jane snuggled into the covers and closed her eyes.

Maura watched her for a moment, her own body slowly starting to feel the day's effects. But just before she let her succumb to the Sand Man herself, she felt Jane lace their fingers together. Both fell asleep with a small smile on their face.


	8. Chapter 8

"Jay?" The small voice to her right made Jane look up from the pancakes she and Maura made earlier.

"Yeah kiddo?" Danny looked at her intently, before settling her big brown eyes on Jane's hands.

"Did it hurt?" Maura's eyes widened when she realized Danny was referring to Jane's scars and she held her breath, the air around them becoming thick with tension. She should've thought about the fact that her daughter wouldn't hesitate to ask when she noticed. She silently cursed herself for not telling Danny to not ask questions about the other woman's hands.

But Jane just smiled sadly, set her fork down and rubbed her scars. "Not so much anymore. Only when the weather changes. Better than the weather forecast!" She earned a small giggle, but knew that there were a million questions running through that brain of Danny's.

Maura watched the scene intently, her own breakfast long forgotten. She wanted to intervene, tell Danny to leave it alone, but her own selfishness stopped her. She too wanted to know what exactly happened. Apart from everything she had seen on the news. Balling her hands into fists, she continued watching, her eyes darting between Jane and Danny as if she were watching a tennis match.

"What happened?" Jane found herself sighing, but surprisingly not mad or nervous. She had been waiting for this day to come. It had taken longer than she anticipated. Looking back up at Danny, the only thing she saw in her eyes was intrigue and worry. She chuckled. The kid was worried about _her._

The sound made Maura nearly jump out of her seat. It was so unexpected. The last thing she would've thought would happen. Swallowing nervously, her eyebrows drew together. What made her chuckle?

"A bad man happened. He did horrible things and when I found him he…" Jane took a deep breath, steadying herself. It was hard enough to explain this to adults. Telling this to a child was even harder. "He hurt me. But I'm fine now. See?" To prove her point, she tickled Danny's side, the girl giggling loudly.

Jane smiled at the five year old, intending to take her hands back. But Danny was quicker, grabbing them both in her own small hands. Both Jane and Maura watched completely mesmerized as the girl brought each hand to her mouth, kissing both scars.

Inquiring eyes turned upwards. "All better?" Jane swallowed thickly, her mouth going dry. She nodded. "All better." And just like that, Danny smiled and wordlessly went back to her pancakes, completely oblivious to the emotional rollercoaster sitting beside her.

Jane licked her licks, fought back the tears that had suddenly found it the right time to appear and spared a glance over at Maura. The other woman seemed to be struggling even harder with her tears, a few leaking out. The Detective was glad Danny wasn't paying attention, too busy scarfing down her pancakes, trying to see how many she could fit into her mouth.

Jane reached over, grabbing Maura's hand with one, while the other swept away the few stray tears. Maura smiled, embarrassed at having been caught and squeezed Jane's hand. The Italian nodded as if to ask if she were okay and Maura nodded. Then, with one horrified look at her daughter she opened her mouth.

"Danielle Alexis Isles! Spit out those pancakes right this instance!" Danielle's eyes widened, having thought she was getting away with it. Following where her mother pointed she walked over to the trash can and spit out her mouthful.

Jane was trying to hold back her laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. Maura turned her glare on her, but instead of shutting Jane up, the Detective burst out laughing.

"Jane! This isn't funny. Stop laughing! She could've choked for God's sake!" The Italian nodded – agreeing with Maura – but found the task harder than she thought. It was just too damn funny.

After trying – and failing – she found both Maura and Danny joining in, their laughter bouncing off the kitchen walls.

"I'm s-sorry mommy." Danny wiped at her eyes. She had been laughing so hard she had actually started to cry. Maura sighed, catching Jane hiccupping. Rolling her eyes, she turned to her daughter.

"It's okay sweetie. But what does mommy always tell you?"

"Don't bite off more than you can chew." With a smile and a peck on Danny's forehead, the girl was forgiven.

Jane leaned towards Maura, raising an eyebrow. "The one time you actually get a saying right and you mean it literally. You do know that it actually means-" One glare cut Jane of effectively and the woman sat back in her seat, suddenly scared of Maura.

A chuckle from Danny made her glare at the child, who – in turn – stuck her tongue out at Jane. Maura opened her mouth to say something, but saw Jane stick her own tongue out and rolled her eyes. Why did she bother? Jane was pretty much a five year old herself. It was like raising two kids.

"Can you stay for the rest of the day Jay? And Jo Friday too?!" The dog barked from her spot on the kitchen floor, eyeing Bass warily. The two seemed to understand each other. You stay away from me, I stay away from you.

Jane smiled at the little girl. "If it's okay with your mother, sure." Both turned up to look at Maura, puppy dog eyes on full blast. Maura sighed, biting down on her cheek to keep from laughing. She made a show of thinking about it, tapping her chin, then her foot and eventually sighing and shrugging.

"Mom!"

"Maura!"

The honey blonde laughed, nodding her head. "Of course she can stay sweetie. You're not on call are you?" Jane shook her head, high fiving Danny in the process.

"Nope. Got my first weekend off in over a month. Oh! Can we watch the game tonight though!?" Both Maura and Danny gave her a confused look, wondering what she was talking about. Jane let her eyes trail from one woman to the other.

"Baseball? Red Sox? Ring a bell?" Maura's eyes lit up in recognition, remembering Jane telling her how much of a fan she was when they were younger. Danny though, looked absolutely excited.

"Baseball?! Oh Jay, can we play?" Jane's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Are you sure you didn't take home the wrong baby?" Her mutter was met with two laughs and Jane blushed, embarrassed at having said that out loud. Jane continued, trying to save her dignity.

"She's just absolutely not girly at all. I mean. I figured she would be a little you. Running around, spouting of facts… oh wait, she actually does that. But y'know, more pink," The girl turned her nose up at the word. Jane silently celebrated. "more dresses. Just more you. But she's completely like…" Maura finished for her.

"Like you?" Jane's mouth opened and closed a few times. Yes, that was what she was going to say, but it was physically impossible. And it would've embarrassed her even more. Maura chuckled and walked over to the Italian. "She is. And I love it." Pressing a kiss to Jane's temple, she winked at her daughter. The five year old giggled at the shade of red Jane suddenly turned.

Clearing her throat, the Detective decided to change the subject before she was being subjected to more embarrassing things. There was that word again. Bouncing excitedly in her seat, she locked eyes with Danny.

"You wanna go out and play?" A 'Yes!' was being screamed and Danny was off, undoubtedly changing into something more appropriate. Somehow, Jane found herself just knowing she wouldn't have to wait long.

* * *

Jane spent the rest of the afternoon throwing over a baseball with Danny. The girl had been really excited to learn all the ins and outs of baseball and Jane told her that every time she caught the ball, she could ask a question and Jane would answer. That way she would keep it interesting and fun. And she promised her to take her to a game someday. Not the Red Sox perse, but a game nonetheless. And Danny seemed to be a natural. She caught almost every ball and before Jane knew it, she had pretty much covered all the rules and basics.

"Anything else you wanna know?" The Detective asked as she threw the ball. The girl caught it with ease. Jane was impressed.

"Did you ever play?" Jane smiled – figured that Danny wasn't going to throw the ball back until she had an answer – and lowered her glove.

"I did. With my brothers and a few friends from school." Danny's eyes widened.

"Were you any good?" Jane opened her mouth to tell her that she got one question each time she caught the ball, but decided against it. Instead, she answered the question.

"I was okay. I'm better at basketball though." She had said it with a shrug. Something simple. Something to end the conversation to go back to throwing the ball. But Danny squealed in excitement and threw down the ball and glove before rushing over to Jane.

She tugged on her shirt, jumping up and down in front of her. Jane watched her, a smile on her face.

"Oh oh oh, can we play!?" And she suddenly understood her mother. Laughing, she ruffled Danny's hair, effectively stopping the girl from jumping up and down.

"Some other day okay? I think your mom has dinner ready." A pout formed on the other girl's face and Jane nearly gave in. If the girl would be too tired to go to sleep later that evening she might bounce the ball back and forth with her. Anything to tire her out. But right now she was starving. Ushering the girl inside, she was met with the most amazing smell. Her mouth watered and she all but bounced into the kitchen.

Maura looked up from her stirring, smiling at the look on the other woman's face.

"Hungry?" Jane nodded vigorously.

"Need any help?" Maura shook her head, knowing that 'helping' in this sentence would mean 'eating as much as she could before dinner.'

"But if you could set the table?" Of course Jane complied and – after calling Danny over – the two set to work. Maura watched from where she was cooking as the two got to work quickly and efficiently.

Well, how efficient one could be when playing around with a five year old. Jane kept making funny faces, eliciting a giggle every time and soon she was chasing Danny around the dining room table, the girl squealing in delight. The M.E. watched as Jane 'caught' her daughter and spun her around, putting on a very deep voice.

"I got you! Here comes the Tickle Monster." Maura smiled to herself, remembering when Jane had threatened with the same exact thing last night.

Maura just watched in complete adoration at how Jane handled her daughter. The girl was a completely different person when the Italian was around. She handled her so well, as if they knew each other for years, as if she was her… Maura quickly shook the thought out of her mind. She couldn't go there. Especially not since all Jane and she were, were friends.

But she couldn't help but hope that maybe one day they could be a family. The three of them, together. She was rattled out of her thoughts when she felt two strong arms pick her up and spun her around. Screaming out, she felt herself flush. She had been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't even heard or seen Jane approach.

The Detective set her down, chuckling in her ear. The combination of her warm breath and the vibration of her chuckle sent a chill down her spine. Jane kept her arms around her, and Maura was surrounded with the Italian's scent. Her eyes fluttered closed as she took it all in. The feeling of Jane pressed up against her, the feeling of her hands resting on her stomach, the scent of lavender and Maura's own shampoo. It felt like home.

"Dinner ready?" Maura could only nod, not fully trusting her voice, Jane was doing things to her that she wouldn't dare admit out loud. The Italian stepped back, her hands lingering on Maura's hips.

"Danny! Dinner's ready kiddo." Maura watched as her daughter appeared out of nowhere. How long had she been lost in her thoughts?

She watched in a daze as Jane plated up, shooting her a smile and digging in. If someone were to ask her how everything tasted and what they talked about, she would have to tell them she didn't remember. Everything went by in a blur and before she knew it, dinner was over and Jane was cleaning up the dishes.

Watching Danny balance their glasses in her small hands seemed to snap her out of the haze she was in and she leapt to her feet, taking the glasses from her daughter. Placing a kiss on Danny's head, she told the girl to go and watch some TV. Of course she didn't need to be told twice and plopped down on the couch seconds later.

Maura found herself enjoying doing the dishes with Jane. There was something serene and… domestic about it. Something Maura hadn't felt in a long time. There was finally someone to share the load with. And she decided she liked it.

"You okay? You were zoned out pretty much the entire dinner. Is something wrong?" She looked over at Jane, watching as the Detective rinsed off a plate before setting it apart.

"Everything's perfect Jane." Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can handle it y'know. I'm a detective after all." She grinned.

"I was just wondering how you became so good with kids. You're a natural. It's almost as if you've been there from the day she was born." Jane blushed at the compliment, letting her hair fall down to cover her face. Maura smiled softly, reaching over to brush Jane's hair over the Detective's shoulder.

"You really think so?" The M.E. nodded, stepping even closer to Jane. She could feel the younger woman's body heat radiating off of her, could smell her perfume. Her eyes locked onto chocolate brown ones.

"I do. Do you have any idea what seeing you with her does to me?" Jane shook her head, her mouth going dry and her stomach doing summersaults. Maura stepped impossibly closer, her body molding into Jane's side. She stepped on her toes to bring her lips to Jane's ear. "It's turning me on."

Maura's declaration made the plate Jane had been holding drop down into the water and the Detective felt her breath hitch. Had she really said that? Her eyes darted around nervously, Maura's presence all the more clearly the longer they stayed that way.

"Uhh, Maur?" The M.E. was still standing on her toes, years of ballet now finally coming in handy. Who had known?

"Yes Jane?" Jane closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of Maura's breath on her neck.

She didn't know exactly what to say. This had completely thrown her for a loop and she was desperately trying to come up with something suitable to say. But try as she may, her mind chose this exact moment to shut up and leave her in the dust. Swallowing thickly, she reopened her eyes and turned her head slightly. The intense look in Maura's eyes nearly knocked her over and she gripped the counter for support. Taking a shaky breath, she licked her lips. Maura's eyes flashed down to them.

"What are we doing?" Jane's whisper was barely heard and had it not been to the close proximity, Maura would have missed it. She smiled gently, reaching up to let her hand cup Jane's cheek. The Detective leaned into the touch, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"I don't know. But it feels right." Maura's own response was whispered back and she fought the urge to lean in and claim those luscious lips with her own.

"We shouldn't-" Maura quickly cut her off. "We're not doing anything wrong Jane. I will wait until you've figured everything out. And when you have." She leaned back in, this time brushing the Detective's ear with her lips. "I'll be ready and willing." Jane had never been so turned on from just doing the dishes. Maura stepped back, and with one last sultry look, turned back to her task, leaving Jane staring into the water.


	9. Chapter 9

They had yet to talk about what happened after dinner and Jane was keen on keeping it that way. There was nothing to talk about really. Except maybe for the fact that Jane had been very much aroused by Maura's sultry voice and look and – of course – the way she had been pressed against the Italian's body. As if she had every right to and did it every day.

They had joined Danny in front of the TV, falling into the middle of some kind of Kid's movie. Jane didn't even bother remembering the name or what it was about. She kept replaying the earlier scene over and over.

Eventually it was time for Danny to go to bed and the girl had asked Jane with puppy dog eyes if the Detective could be the one to tuck her in.

Jane had been surprised, glancing over at Maura to make sure it was okay and being met with an affirmative nod. The honey blonde had looked completely proud and emotional. Although that didn't take much these days Jane noted.

So she set up to tuck Danny in. Thinking it was an easy task initially, she was surprised to find herself having to chase the girl to change the five year old in her pajamas, have her brush her teeth and finally reading her a bedtime story.

Jane had never thought it to be so much work, but she gladly did it. The little girl stirred something inside of her. Something she never knew she possessed. Or wanted.

"And they lived happily ever after." Jane – thinking it was over – closed the book and moved to get out of bed. But Danny held on tightly, not looking even the slightest bit tired. Jane suddenly imagined the trouble Maura had to go through every night.

Maybe she should've played basketball with her after all. She smiled down at the five year old, kissed the top of her head and once more intended to get out of the bed. But once again Danny's hand found its way in her own and she tugged on it.

"Please stay? Until I fall asleep?" Jane opened her mouth to say no and tell her to go to sleep, but found herself lost in deep brown eyes. How could this kid make her do anything she wanted?

Nodding, she settled back in. Danny snuggled into her side immediately, a smile on her face. But luckily she didn't ask any questions. Jane wasn't sure she couldn't tell her no, apparently her heart wouldn't let her.

Maura – wondering what was taking Jane so long – came over to check up on them, finding Danny practically lying on top of the other woman. Jane was wide awake, her hand drawing lacy circles on the little girl's back. Danny was snoring softly. Maura smiled.

"Jane?" She whispered, careful not to wake up her sleeping daughter. The Italian turned her head, smiling slightly at the sight of Maura.

The honey blonde nodded her head towards her daughter and Jane – with one look to make sure she was indeed asleep – untangled herself from Danny's vice grip carefully.

She really hoped she wouldn't wake up. Fortunately she didn't and Jane covered her slumbering form with a Pokémon blanket. Not being able to help herself, she leaned in to press a soft kiss to Danny's temple. The girl stirred, but didn't wake and the two adults made their way out of the room quietly, tip-toeing down the hall back to the living room.

"Thank you." Jane shrugged, not entirely sure what she was being thanked for. But she didn't have the energy to ask the other woman either.

With a loud sigh, she flopped down on the couch. Grabbing her beer from the table, she took a long swig. It had been a tiresome weekend. Tiresome but satisfying. Glancing up from the TV to watch Maura sit down, she took another sip.

"I'm cutting you off after this one." Jane frowned down at her beer. It was only her third.

"Jane, you still have to drive home." Jane's eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an 'o'. She had totally forgotten that tomorrow was Monday. Meaning work.

She groaned softly. This might be the first time she actually didn't want to go to work. Damn Maura. It was all her fault.

She finished her beer slowly, savoring the taste and maybe – but just maybe – trying to postpone going home a little longer. Yes, things were slightly awkward after the 'thing' that happened, but that didn't mean she didn't want to be around Maura anymore.

Not at all. She was still very much happy to be around the other woman. Awkward, sometimes uncomfortable and even a bit flushed, but happy nonetheless.

"Jane?" The Detective hummed, turning her head to look at the honey blonde. "Is everything okay? I mean… you haven't said a word to me after… we did the dishes. Did I make you uncomfortable?" Jane snorted. She couldn't help it. Of course it made her uncomfortable! Hello, she was just recapping the whole thing!

Maura turned her head, ashamed at what she'd done. Jane's reaction had been proof enough. But she turned around when she felt a hand on her shoulder. And once again, she found herself lost in chocolate brown orbs. Jane smirked.

"Maur. You make me uncomfortable most of the time." She hastened to explain when she saw guilt, sadness and shame enter Maura's eyes. "But that isn't a bad thing." Now confusion. Jane chuckled. "You keep me on my tones and you keep surprising me every time. Like when we were doing the dishes. The things you said. God woman, do you know what you did to me?" Maura had the decency to blush. But she also felt good. She was able to make Jane feel the same exact way the Detective made _her_ feel.

"But that's exactly what I like about you." Maura grinned softly, raising one suggestive eyebrow.

"The fact I can turn you on with a few simple words?" Jane's mouth fell open and she stared in complete shock.

"See! You're doing it again. And yes… you did turn me on." The Detective turned a light shade of red, momentarily glancing away. When she regained some of her composure she turned back.

"But that's just one of the many things I like about you." The honey blonde turned to face Jane fully.

"Are you going to list them?" Jane laughed, shaking her head in amusement.

"No. I think you already have a clear idea of what I like about you." She licked her lips, letting her eyes trail all the way from Maura's toes up to her eyes, lingering on her cleavage and full lips. Maura blushed. Of course she knew what Jane liked about her.

But she also knew what _she_ liked about Jane. And more importantly, what Jane liked _her_ to do to her. She frowned. That sentence didn't make much sense. But that wasn't important.

She looked up through her eyelashes, hoping that it would have the desired effect on Jane. And when she saw the Detective stop breathing, her eyes widening just a slight bit, she knew she had her where she wanted her.

Leaning in, she put one hand on the Italian's knee, slowly moving it up and down her thigh. She watched as Jane flushed, trying – and miserably failing – to keep somewhat of a composure.

Maura leaned in close. Jane wondered how many times Maura was going to whisper in her ear that night. She swallowed thickly as the next words hit her.

"And I know what you like." And of course she was about to respond, but all that came out was a low moan.

Maura had her lips pressed just under her earlobe. Right on Jane's soft spot. And where she would be under Maura's complete mercy. The honey blonde moved her lips expertly and Jane wondered where she had gotten so good. Not that she wasn't good twenty years ago, but right now. Damn, the woman was good.

She panted heavily, one part of her brain telling her to push Maura back, but the other part telling her to shut up and enjoy this moment. It didn't mean that they had to go any further.

The latter won out and she let her be pushed back into the couch cushions, Maura slowly crawling on top of her. Her eyes closed of their own accord and she sighed deeply. There wasn't anything wrong with enjoying this.

Maura kept trailing her lips up and down Jane's neck, nipping, sucking and biting, but always careful not to leave a mark. That wouldn't go down well. She was spurred on by the sounds coming from the woman under her and she grinned to herself. Her plan was working.

Slowly but surely, she moved higher, over Jane's chin, closer and closer to the other woman's mouth. Warm lips met her own and she nearly moaned at the contact. She had been waiting all weekend for this.

Maybe even all those years if she was being completely honest with herself. Their lips moved together, almost like a dance and Maura was reminded of how good it felt. Of how much she enjoyed kissing Jane. Oh how she had missed those lips.

Her tongue poked out hesitantly, just enough to ask for entrance and taste the beer Jane had been drinking. But instead of Jane opening her mouth, the other woman put a hand to her chest and pushed her back softly.

Maura watched as Jane's eyes came into view and she was met with uncertainty and arousal. Two things that didn't work together. The honey blonde held her breath, ready for Jane to bolt. But the Italian just sat there, catching her breath, her eyes still locked with her own.

"Maura." The sound of Jane's deep, husky voice made her stomach erupt with butterflies and her heart skip a beat. She watched Jane open her mouth. "W-We can't. Not like this. Not when…"

The Detective shut her eyes tightly, willing her emotions to leave her alone. She needed to think rational, not have her mind replay the feeling of Maura's lips on her own.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, she ran a shaky hand run through her hair. This was even harder than she had anticipated.

"It's okay Jane. I understand." The Italian opened her eyes, the same uncertainty still showing. But for a different reason this time.

"You do?" The honey blonde smiled apologetically, an unknown look in her eyes.

"I do. I'm sorry if I pushed too far. That was never my intention. I hope you can believe that. I just wanted to show you that I still cared and… wanted you in more than a friendly way." Jane sighed, pulling her legs up to her chest.

"You said you would wait Maura. I can't do this when you're…" She waved her arm around lamely. "Kissing me and stuff." Maura bit her cheek to stop her lips from turning into a smile. She was really adorable.

"I'm sorry. I won't kiss you anymore. Neither will I do other stuff." She couldn't stop the amusement from seeping into her words and Jane raised her eyebrows, a small smile appearing on her own face.

"Thank you." Maura just nodded, reaching out to squeeze Jane's arm. Everything was going to be okay.

They were silent for a few minutes, both stewing in their own thoughts, when Maura broke it. Her voice was soft and hesitant.

"I guess you should go? I mean, we have work tomorrow and your clothes are at your place and you've been wearing these clothes for the past two days. Not that there is anything wrong with what you're wearing. I just assume that you'd rather change and sleep in your own bed. You're free to stop me anytime." The two shared a laugh, some of the tension easing out of the room.

Jane sighed, her legs dropping back on the ground. "I guess I actually should go. Y'know, to do all the stuff you just said."

"You don't have to. We can stop by your apartment before work tomorrow?" Jane's mind immediately went to Maura's bedroom. And the bed. That they were going to have to share again. She wasn't sure she was ready for that. Not after what had just happened.

"Nah, that's okay. Besides, I am kind of missing my bed. Might not have a fancy ass mattress that yours does, but it does the job. And it's formed to my body." Maura frowned, having a small idea of what Jane meant with that. And when the other woman winked at her, her suspicions were confirmed. She was going to need to get Jane a new mattress.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. I'm also going to see you out." Jane smirked.

"Now you're suddenly in a hurry to throw me out?" Maura rolled her eyes, already halfway out the living room.

"I'm hardly throwing you out Jane." Jane called Jo Friday over. Couldn't forget her dog could she?

She watched as Jane got her things, Jo following hot on her heel, her eyes following her owner's every move. Finally it was time for them to say goodbye. They would be seeing each other tomorrow at work, but it would be different.

Jane cleared her throat, shifting awkwardly in front of Maura. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Hug her? Kiss her on the cheek? Smile and walk off? Jo's bark brought her out of her thoughts and she looked down to see the dog trying to jump up against Maura.

"Jo Friday! You're going to get her clothes dirty. Off!" The dog obeyed – after shooting her a dirty look – and opted for sitting down, staring up at the honey blonde.

Maura laughed, crouching down to pet the mutt on the head, pressing a kiss into the dog's fur. Jane watched with a smile on her face. Danny might be Maura's daughter, but Jo kind of was her… well, companion.

The M.E. straightened back up, aiming her smile Jane's way. The Italian found herself smiling back. Of course she did, she always did. One of the other many things she liked about the other woman.

"So uhh… I'll see you tomorrow?" Maura smiled, biting down on her lower lip softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She opened the door just enough for the two to pass through. Jane stopped just after she got over the threshold. She swallowed nervously, wringing her hands together.

She frowned. She should stop doing that. Stuffing them into her pockets instead, she took a deep breath and leaned in. Her lips met soft skin and with one last quick smile, she was all but rushing off to her car.

Maura was left standing there, her hand to her cheek. When she watched Jane's car disappear around the corner, a grin the length of her face appeared and she looked off into the distance. A dazed look was in her eyes.

At least they were making progress… right?


	10. Chapter 10

"So what did you do this weekend?" Frost's question made Jane glance over at Korsak. Thankfully, the old man was too busy trying to put the lid on his coffee.

"Spend it with Maura." She conveniently left out 'and her daughter'. She figured if no one knew about it by now, Maura wouldn't want her telling everyone about it either.

Frost raised his eyebrows in surprise. Did he hear that correctly? "I'm sorry, did you just say you spend it with Maura?" Jane nodded, shrugged and went back to her paperwork. Maybe she should've finished it Friday.

"Well?" She smirked when Frost kept pushing. Although she didn't blame him for being curious. After everything that had happened everyone would be.

"It was… fun. And strange. And uncomfortable. Awkward too." The man rolled his eyes, glancing over at Korsak himself. He wasn't even listening to them.

"But it was good? Apart from all of that I mean?" Jane looked at him for a moment. Was it good? It was many things, but she never really thought if it was good. It wasn't bad, that was for sure.

Sighing, she shrugged again. "I think so, yeah. It was kind of like old times y'know? She hasn't changed that much." _Apart from having a daughter and being even more beautiful than I remember her to be._

"Just don't screw it up this time, okay partner? Can't run away now." Jane frowned.

"I didn't run away Frost! She told me to leave and to get out of her life. So that's what I did. Besides, did you know that she never wanted me leave in the first place? Not _really._" Frost looked pleasantly surprised and Jane smirked. That would teach him.

Jane Rizzoli didn't run away. Yes, she might have had the urge to now and then. But she never did. And she wasn't going to start now. Maura had shown an interest in her and after she would have everything figured out it would all be okay.

If only she could figure things out sooner rather than later. Frost kept his mouth shut, still reeling from this piece of information. He was happy for Jane, don't get him wrong, but he just couldn't believe that Maura would forgive her just like that.

Okay, maybe not 'just like that'. He had seen the M.E. give Jane a hard time. At crime scenes and at the office. But Jane had never backed down. Maybe that was what eventually turned the table, he mused. It showed that Jane wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Maybe Maura appreciated that. He would, that's for sure.

The sound of heels hitting the floor made both of them – and even Korsak – look up from their work. There was no mistaking who it was that had just entered the bull pen.

Maura had a radiant smile on her face and Jane felt her heart skip a beat. The corner of her lips turn up and she knew she wasn't going to get any work done that day. She barely had and now with the image of Maura wearing a skintight black dressed that hugged every curve of her body and stopped just above her knees, all chance at finishing her paperwork was lost.

"Good morning Detectives, Sergeant." Korsak smiled back politely. He had taken a quick liking to Maura, unlike some of his colleagues.

"Good morning Doc. What brings you to this side of town?" The M.E. chuckled softly, before turning her eyes on Jane.

"I was wondering if you had any plans for lunch Jane. I was wondering if you'd like to go out. With me?" The question immediately silenced all conversations in the room and Jane noted all eyes on the pair.

She sighed internally, giving Maura a 'really?' look. She wondered about dragging Maura away from those prying eyes, but knew that would only raise more suspicion. Besides, everyone was probably wondering what had happened to the M.E. She hadn't exactly been happy about working with Jane.

The Detective smiled softly, nodding her head in silent agreement. "Sure sounds good. I'll meet you in the café at noon all right?" Maura smiled, barely containing her excitement.

She had been thinking about a way to spend more time with Jane. She couldn't exactly invite the woman over for dinner. She was afraid it would be too soon too fast. Even though they had just spent an entire weekend together. But she said that she would give Jane the time she needed to figure things out.

Lunch wouldn't hurt either of them and it would give them a chance to get away from the station. Nodding her goodbye to everyone, she walked out, a little extra sway in her hips.

She wasn't surprised to find Jane staring at her when she turned to look over her shoulder. The Detective – after seeing that Maura had caught her staring – quickly turned around in her seat and pretended to go back to work.

The M.E. smirked. Her plan was once again working. Although it didn't take much to get Jane hot and bothered. She chuckled to herself once she was safely in the elevator.

"So you and the Doc are finally getting along huh Jane?" Jane looked up at Korsak, seeing relief in the older man's eyes.

She knew that her and Maura's relationship wasn't exactly helping the cases they had been working on. Jane was – more times than not – quite cranky. And when the M.E. would come over and point something out, it made Jane's mood all the more worse.

So if it meant that their relationship was bettering, that meant that Korsak didn't have to worry about whether or not the two women would fly at each other's throats.

"Yeah. We're uhh… becoming friends. I guess." She still wasn't entirely sure what they were.

Friends? Maybe. But friends didn't do what Maura did to her the other night. And friends wouldn't sleep in the same bed. Right? But they weren't more either. Jane wasn't ready to take that step yet. Which made them something in between? The only thing Jane could think of was friends with benefits. But they weren't sleeping together either.

Finally, she settled on complicated and left it at that. She had more important things to think of than what to call their relationship. Like lunch for example. Was it such a good idea to say yes to it? What if things got awkward? Not that she wasn't an expert about those kind of situations by now, but still.

Sighing, she quietly went back to work. Maybe it would be enough to get her mind off the hour she was going to be spending with Maura. Alone. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she concentrated even harder on her work.

* * *

Two hours later and Jane had barely gotten any work done. She was frustrated, annoyed and a nervous wreck. The Detective was standing in the middle of the café, biting her fingernails as she waited for the M.E. to finally show up.

Her paperwork still wasn't done and it was all the honey blonde's fault. If only she hadn't come up and given Jane's brain enough things to imagine about. Her dress for example, or the way she would look like without it. What was the honey blonde wearing underneath it?

Jane sighed for the millionth time that day, trying to shake these thoughts out of her mind.

"Janie?" She cringed inwardly.

"Yeah Ma?" She turned around slowly, hoping that Maura would walk in and that they could get out of there. But she had no such luck. Glancing at her watch, she saw that the honey blonde still had five minutes to get here.

"Why are you standing here like a nervous school girl? Don't you have better things to do?" Jane rolled her eyes.

"I'm waiting for someone Ma. We're going out for lunch." That was the wrong thing to say.

Angela glanced around to make sure there weren't any costumers she had to serve and quickly closed the gap between her and her daughter. She was smiling brightly, barely containing the squeal at her daughter's confession.

"Who? Do I know him? Is he cute? What's his name?" The Detective quickly held up her hand, effectively silencing her mother. But unfortunately not her enthusiasm. And it wasn't infectious either.

"You know _her._" Angela nodded eagerly. After the fiasco with Maura, Jane had pretty much come out to her family. She told them she wasn't gay, but that she did entertain the thought of other women. No one seemed to have a problem with it. At least not until she brought home her first girlfriend after Maura.

Her mother had been fine with it. She didn't expect anything less. Frankie and Tommy too, but her father just couldn't accept it. He told her he did, but he never really believed she would bring a girl home.

There had been screaming, curses and eventually Jane had pulled the girl out of her home. But by then the damage had already been done. She had been dumped minutes later and her father wouldn't talk to her for a week. She still thought it was the beginning of her parents' divorce. Didn't matter how many times Angela told her it wasn't.

"So? What's her name?" Jane blinked a few times, trying to get her bearings back. She had been so caught up in her thoughts.

"Maura. The new M.E." This time her mother did squeal. Jane quickly shushed her, looking around to make sure no one heard.

"Ma! Come on! We're at work. Act normal." Angela merely rolled her eyes, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Oh be quiet you. Let me be happy for my daughter. I can't believe we're finally getting a doctor in the family." The Detective sighed deeply, running a hand over her tired face.

"We're not dating Ma."

"Not yet. Oh! Dr. Isles, Jane was just telling me about your date." Jane's eyes widened in shock and she dropped her hand to see Maura standing there, all smiles.

"Ma, I told you it's not a date." Jane hissed, glaring intensely at her mother.

But Angela merely waved a hand her way, too busy staring at Maura.

"You look absolutely wonderful dear. I can't believe Jane had the guts to finally ask you out." Jane gave up. It didn't matter what she said, her mother wouldn't listen anyway.

How had she not learned that yet?

"Oh, she didn't ask me out Ms. Rizzoli. And it isn't a date. We're just going out as friends." She shot Jane a quick smile, the raven haired woman relaxing slightly.

"Of course you would say that. Janie probably told you to tell me that. But no worries, your secrets safe with me." She winked at the honey blonde. "Now get going, before your hour is over. I could put in a word with Sean if you'd like Janie?" Jane – having had enough – pulled Maura close to her by her arm. The honey blonde stumbled into her, letting out a soft 'oh'.

"That won't be necessary Ma. We're going." Angela watched the two walk off, a knowing look in her eyes.

* * *

"Sorry about that." Jane immediately apologized for her mother and the way she grabbed her the moment they stepped outside.

"Don't be sorry Jane. I kind of liked it. Who knew you could be so rough?" The M.E. couldn't help herself. She loved teasing Jane. Especially when she looked as flustered as she did right now.

"You liked my Ma interrogating you?" She tried to save some of her dignity. Damn that woman and the hold she had on her.

"Your mother is very kind Jane. You shouldn't be so hard on her."

"I shouldn't be so hard on-" Jane huffed, rolling her eyes. Why did no one ever side with her?

"So where are we going?" The Detective changed the subject.

"I was hoping we could go to the new deli on the corner? I've been wanting to go there for the past week." Jane shrugged, silently agreeing. At least it wasn't that far away.

They walked in relative silence, navigating through the busy Boston streets. Jane kept glancing over at Maura. The honey blonde was looking even more beautiful in the afternoon sun. Quickly averting her gaze, she willed herself to calm down.

Her heart had been racing the moment she laid eyes on the other woman. But when they were around other people, the Detective was able to compose herself. When they were alone – even though they were surrounded by dozens of people – she found herself unable to do so.

All she wanted to do was be close to the other woman. Not necessarily intimately close, but close nonetheless.

So when she had to side step a pedestrian and ended brushing shoulders with Maura, Jane didn't step away. The honey blonde smiled coyly, reaching out to link their hands together. Jane didn't pull away then either.

A sense of belonging overcame both women and they turned their heads to smile at each other.

"How's Danny? She sleep okay?" Jane cleared her throat awkwardly.

"She did, thank you for asking. She asked about you this morning." Jane raised an inquisitive eyebrow, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Really?" Maura nodded, stepping even closer to the other woman. Jane swallowed nervously, but didn't pull away.

"She was wondering if you'd be there when I'd pick her up from school this afternoon." The Detective chuckled softly. "You really made an impression on her Jane."

"She made an impression on me too." It was voiced softly, but held a vast amount of emotion. Maura squeezed her hand, grinning up at the Detective.

"Looks like someone has you wrapped around their finger." Jane rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "So? Will you be there?" When Jane gave her a confused look, Maura elaborated. "To pick her up from school." The Detective's eyes widened momentarily and she stayed silent.

"You don't have to. I can tell her you were busy." Jane bit her lip.

"Wouldn't that be lying? Something you can't do. Or did you find a way around that?" At Maura's shake of her head, she sighed. "You're right though. She has me wrapped around her little finger." Then a few seconds later. "I'll be there." Maura's smile was worth the feeling of dread that filled her.


End file.
